The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Texas may continue installing concertina wire along the Texas-Mexico border.

The three-judge panel stated, “We now rule that Texas is entitled to a preliminary injunction. Specifically, the United States clearly waived sovereign immunity as to Texas’s state law claims under § 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act (‘APA’). That conclusion is supported by a flood of uncontradicted circuit precedent to which the United States has no answer.”

The court dismissed federal arguments against Texas’s actions, writing, “The injunction is not barred by intergovernmental immunity because Texas is seeking, not to ‘regulate’ Border Patrol, but only to safeguard its own property. Nor, for similar reasons, is the injunction barred by the Immigration and Nationality Act.” It added, “Most importantly, the United States does not even contest that Texas has shown it will likely succeed on its state law trespass claims.”

BREAKING: the federal court of appeals just ruled that Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall that we have constructed to deny illegal entry into our state.and that Biden was wrong to cut our razor wire.

We continue adding more razor wire border barrier. pic.twitter.com/a1jLPvceLf

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) November 27, 2024

Governor Greg Abbott welcomed the ruling, stating, “The federal court of appeals just ruled that Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall that we have constructed to deny illegal entry into our state and that Biden was wrong to cut our razor wire.” Abbott emphasized Texas’s continued efforts to enhance border security, saying, “We continue adding more razor wire border barrier.”

The ruling follows a series of legal battles between Texas and the federal government. Since September 2023, Border Patrol agents reportedly cut the wire in at least 14 incidents near Eagle Pass. In response, Texas sued the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other officials. A temporary restraining order was initially granted and extended twice but was later denied by a district court.

On December 19, 2023, Texas secured an injunction pending appeal, prohibiting Border Patrol from tampering with the razor wire near Eagle Pass unless necessary for medical emergencies. However, the defendants expedited their appeal, and the Supreme Court ultimately vacated the injunction, allowing the case to proceed.