Texas border wire oral arguments delayed to develop ‘factual record’

Published February 7, 2024 2:14pm ET



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.

Areas along the southern border in Brownsville, Texas, wired shut ahead of end of Title 42 policy
Areas along the southern border in Brownsville, Texas, wired shut ahead of end of Title 42 policy | Kaelan Deese

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.

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