Texas AG Ken Paxton says state won’t comply with Biden administration order to reopen park to federal agents

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday his state has no plans to comply with an order from the Biden administration to grant Border Patrol agents access to a riverfront park that is at the center of a border dispute. 

The defiance comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision earlier this week that cleared the way for Border Patrol agents to cut or remove razor wire Texas had installed around Shelby Park. The area has become a popular corridor for migrants to illegally enter the U.S.  

Texas seized control of the park this month and began denying entry to Border Patrol agents, escalating a feud between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration, which the governor accuses of not doing enough to curb illegal crossings.

After the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, Texas said it would be installing more rows of razor wire. The fencing has become one of Abbott’s most visible measures to deter migrants in the border city of Eagle Pass.

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On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent the state a letter demanding access again to Shelby Park, which is next to the Rio Grande. It asked Texas to respond by Friday.

Paxton told Fox News earlier Thursday that Texas had no plans to comply with the deadline. 

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Paxton cast doubts on the prospect of a physical confrontation between state and federal officials, predicting that the matter would play itself out in the courts. 

That prediction is shared by National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera, who also told Fox News on Thursday you’d be “hard-pressed” to get a Border Patrol agent to go up against their counterparts, i.e., Texas National Guard, on the ground. 

Another border agent told Fox News, that each agency knows it has to “respond to direct orders from superiors,” adding that there was plenty of mutual respect on both sides. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. 

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News that enforcing immigration law is a “federal responsibility.” 

 

“Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law,” the spokesperson said. “We can enforce our laws and administer them safely, humanely, and in an orderly way.” 

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.