The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the 22nd that the southern state of Texas should be allowed to cut or move part of the barbed wire fence installed along the Mexican border to block illegal immigrants from Central and South America. In the meantime, the Joe Biden administration criticized Texas’ installation of sharp barbed wire, also known as a ‘death trap’, and responded by cutting the barbed wire. He also argued that “border management is the authority of the federal government.” This Supreme Court ruling ruled in favor of the Biden administration.
However, there is considerable turmoil surrounding this issue within the Supreme Court, with 5 out of 9 justices in favor and 4 against. Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to regain power in the November presidential election, is claiming, “If we win the presidential election, we will rebuild the border wall that was started when he was in power but was stopped by the Biden administration.” In the November presidential election, conservative and progressive camps are expected to clash sharply over issues such as immigration and abortion.
There were a total of five Supreme Court Justices who agreed with the ruling on this day. In addition to Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Kirtanji Brown Jackson, who are classified as progressive, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who are considered conservative, supported the motion.
In particular, Justice Barrett (pictured) was personally selected in 2020 by former President Trump, who counts the construction of the border wall as his main achievement. He was ultra-conservative on the abortion agenda, but often moderate or progressive on immigration, health care, and guns.
Texas, which is considered a Republican stronghold due to its strong conservative tendencies, has begun a large-scale crackdown on immigrants through ‘Operation Lone Star,’ named after the state, starting in March 2021. In particular, since July of last year, barbed wire has been installed along the Rio Grande River, a major border crossing for illegal immigrants, with razor-sharp metal that can cause serious injury just by brushing against it. As quite a few immigrants caught by this were seriously injured, the Biden administration also responded by cutting some of the barbed wire.
In response, the state of Texas also filed a lawsuit, saying, “The federal government damaged state property.” The district court, the first trial, allowed the damage to the barbed wire. The appellate court, the second-tier court, took a moderate stance, saying, “damage is temporarily prohibited during litigation.”
Then, the Biden administration requested the Supreme Court’s intervention on the 2nd. On this day, 20 days later, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration. The Department of Homeland Security, the department in charge, welcomed the Supreme Court ruling, saying, “The state of Texas has not been able to reduce illegal immigration and has only made it more difficult for federal government personnel to work.”
This ruling is expected to affect other lawsuits being waged between the state of Texas and the Biden administration. The Biden administration recently sued the state of Texas, claiming that it violated the law by forcing illegal immigrants to leave the country. This May, hearings on the removal of the 300-meter-high underwater barrier installed by the state of Texas last year will also begin.
After the launch of the Biden administration, which is inclusive of immigration, the number of illegal immigrants through the Mexican border area exceeded 2 million, and former President Trump is making this a presidential election issue. At a campaign rally in New Hampshire on the 17th, he even claimed, “It is 100% certain that there will be a large-scale terrorist attack on the United States because of Biden’s immigration policy.” About 60 Republican congressmen, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, also recently visited the Texas border area and criticized “(the illegal entry issue) as a disaster created by President Biden.”
The Biden administration is countering this by raising the abortion agenda as an issue. The Supreme Court abolished the Roe v. Wade decision, which had guaranteed abortion rights at the federal level since 1973, in June 2022. Five months later, in the midterm elections, centrist voters who rebelled against this voted for the Democratic Party in large numbers. As a result, the Democratic Party, which was likely to lose the Senate majority, was able to maintain its majority position thanks to this.
The Democratic Party is expecting a similar phenomenon to occur again by making abortion an issue in this presidential election. On the 22nd, the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, the White House announced measures to expand access to emergency abortions at the federal level and provide free contraceptives.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.