A federal appeals court hearing that was scheduled for this week on the legality of Texas erecting concertina wire fences along the southern border has been delayed for the time being, according to a court order.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was scheduled to hold an en banc oral argument hearing on Thursday over the border wire dispute after the Supreme Court effectively allowed U.S. Border Patrol officials to begin cutting Texas’s wire fences on Jan. 22.
The hearing would have marked the first time the case returned to the Louisiana-based appeals court since a three-judge panel decided on Dec. 19, 2023, to stop the Department of Homeland Security from removing the wire fences, which Texas put in place to prevent illegal immigrant crossings.
“We hold in abeyance the appeal in [Department of Homeland Security v. Texas] and remand to the district court for 60 days in order to develop the factual record as set forth in this order,” a Jan. 26 court order reads.
In light of the case’s developments all the way to the Supreme Court, the 5th Circuit’s order requested that the district court make “additional fact findings concerning the matters contested by the parties and any other matters the district court deems relevant.”
“Following those proceedings, the panel may request supplemental briefing and will reschedule oral argument in an expeditious manner to consider Texas’s appeal,” the 5th Circuit order added.
While numerous media outlets reported the hearing would be happening on Wednesday, the order indicated that arguments had been planned for Thursday.
The oral argument hearing likely will be rescheduled for a later date, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
A divided Supreme Court ruled 5-4 last month to allow Border Patrol agents to remove the wire deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) in the Eagle Pass, Texas, area.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The order was considered a blow to Abbott’s efforts to secure the border after months of claiming that the Biden administration’s DHS is not taking appropriate measures to prevent illegal border crossings, though the Texas National Guard has continued to add more razor wire since the decision.
Texas was not ordered explicitly to stop placing more wire, and while the Supreme Court essentially told the federal government that such wire could be removed, DHS officials have said agents will not interfere with Texas’s wire while litigation proceeds in lower courts.
