(Texas Scorecard) — Texas has won a major lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration, forcing them to continue constructing the wall on the southern border.
In a Thursday press release, the attorney general’s office revealed the court found on Monday that the White House unlawfully sought to prevent congressionally approved funds from being used for the border.
“This is a final victory against Biden’s attempt to defund the border wall,” stated Attorney General Ken Paxton. “His Administration illegally sought to prevent the construction of the border wall and illegally attempted to repurpose the money allocated for American safety and sovereignty, working instead to keep the border open. I sued and won to stop their unlawful scheme. Now, the Administration has thrown in the towel by declining to appeal their defeat and will be legally required to build the wall.”
Congress had approved in December 2019 approximately $1.375 billion for a border wall and other constructions. In 2020, Congress once again approved approximately $1.4 billion for the projects as part of a broader COVID-19 relief bill,
However, after taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order ending the declaration of the border crisis as a national emergency.
The White House argued in the order that tabling the designation allowed them to order the United States Department of Homeland Security to redirect border wall funds. Instead, the funds were shifted to other border projects, including environmental remediation, flood control, and cleanup efforts.
Two legal battles were kicked off in response: one by the Texas General Land Office and another by Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. The two lawsuits were later consolidated and heard by a district judge.
While the judge initially dismissed the claims, the decision was reversed in 2023 by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court then punted the case to Judge Drew Tipton of the U.S. District Court in Southern Texas’ McAllen division.
Tipton issued a temporary injunction in March, which ordered the administration to stop diverting the border funds as the court deliberated a permanent injunction.
His latest ruling, a permanent injunction against the administration, likely ends the legal battle over the border funds. The Biden administration declined to appeal the temporary injunction and is expected not to appeal the permanent injunction.
The ruling comes as conditions at the southern border have reached new heights under the Biden administration.
According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there have been over 10 million encounters between CBP agents and illegal border crossers since Biden took office in 2021. In comparison, there were only 2.5 million encounters under the Trump administration.
Biden administration officials have consistently argued for other approaches to border security that do not involve a wall or other barriers, despite their demonstrated effectiveness.
“This Administration believes that effective border security requires a smarter and more comprehensive approach, including state-of-the-art border surveillance technology and modernized ports of entry,” stated Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last year.