President Joe Biden’s Border Patrol was seen cutting through razor wire on private property along the Texas-Mexico border to let migrants move further into the United States after crossing the border illegally, video of the moment shows.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin tweeted footage of Border Patrol cutting the wire.
The Texas Department of Public Safety told Melugin that this is the first time they have seen Border Patrol cutting razor wire and “that it’s being looked into for potential destruction of TX property.”
“The federal government’s position is that once migrants are on U.S. soil, under U.S. law, they need to be processed, and cannot be repelled or turned away,” Melugin tweeted. “Texas is taking a much different approach, and has been physically blocking migrants under orders from Governor @GregAbbott_TX.”
Melugin reported that the incident occurred on private property where Texas has permission to “lay down razor wire and arrest migrants for criminal trespassing.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responded to the video with the following statement:
It is a federal responsibility to enforce U.S. immigration laws. U.S. Border Patrol continues to enforce U.S. immigration laws. The individuals had already crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico, were on U.S. soil, and are subject to U.S. immigration laws. Individuals who cross unlawfully will be subject to the lawful pathways rule, which places common-sense conditions on asylum eligibility, with certain exceptions. Those who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.
Also in Texas, two soldiers were recently arrested for smuggling migrants across the Texas-Mexico border into the United States, local law enforcement officials said.
On June 18, Spc. Desman Braxton, 22, and Sgt. Diamond Lampton, 27, were arrested in Kinney County, Texas, while traveling down a road frequently taken to avoid U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoints, county spokesman Matt Benacci said, according to Stars and Stripes.
Both service members were charged with smuggling people, a felony offense in Texas. Benacci said both soldiers were also released with court dates due to a lack of jail space.
