Federal Appeals Court Grants Order to Block Cutting Razor Wire at Southern Border

The latest order comes after a lower court denied a preliminary injunction citing the state had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the request.

As seen from an aerial view a U.S. Border Patrol agent watches as illegal immigrants walk into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico, in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sept. 30, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

On Monday, a federal appeals court issued an order blocking the Border Patrol agents from cutting concertina wire along the Texas-Mexico border.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the temporary administrative stay just days after a lower court denied the state’s request for a preliminary injunction to prevent federal agents from destroying the border barrier and assisting immigrants crossing into the country illegally. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the federal judge’s decision on Nov. 30.