Delhi: Air quality index breaches 400-mark; govt holds off stricter curbs
The air quality index from 0 to 100 is considered ‘good’, 100 to 200 ‘moderate’, 200 to 300 ‘poor’, 300 to 400 ‘very poor’ and from 400 to 500 or above ‘severe’.
Biden admin demands Texas give Border Patrol access to key park at center of border dispute
The Biden administration is ratcheting up demands for Texas to grant Border Patrol officials access to a key park at the center of a border dispute. Texas seized control of the riverfront park earlier this month and began denying entry to Border Patrol agents, escalating a feud between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden’s administration, The Republican governor has repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for not doing enough to stem the tide of illegal border crossings – which hit more than 300,000 nationwide last month. On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent the state a letter addressed to Attorney General Ken Paxton, demanding access to Shelby Park, which is next to the Rio Grande. BORDER BATTLE LINES: DEMS CALL ON BIDEN TO SEIZE CONTROL OF TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD, AS GOP ALLIES BACK ABBOTT “To our knowledge, Texas has only permitted access to Shelby Park by allowing public entry for a memorial, the media, and use of the golf course adjacent to Shelby Park, all while continuing to restrict U.S. Border Patrol’s access to the park,” the letter read. It gave Texas until Friday to respond. The letter followed the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday that effectively sided with the Biden administration in giving Border Patrol the okay to start removing razor wire installed near Eagle Pass to keep out migrants. Texas has installed rows of razor wire in Shelby Park and said more was being added after the Supreme Court’s decision. Though not addressing the park, Abbott has struck a defiant tone, writing in a lengthy statement that the Biden administration had “broken the compact between the United States and States.” SENATE BORDER BILL TO ALLOW 5,000 MIGRANTS A DAY BEFORE TITLE 42-TYPE LIMIT STARTS; SPARKING CONSERVATIVE FURY “The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including immigration law on the books right now,” he said. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them. The result is that he has smashed records for illegal immigrants.” Texas troopers and National Guard members have kept a large presence at Shelby Park since last summer, when thousands of migrants were crossing illegally crossing from Mexico. Texas told the Supreme Court the park was reopened to the public days after they shut it down, but the federal government expressed skepticism in its letter. The Biden administration requested access to the park, an area underneath a port of entry and a boat ramp.
Ohio Legislature puts tobacco control in the state’s hands after governor’s veto
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Local governments in Ohio can no longer regulate tobacco in their communities after the Republican Legislature overrode on Wednesday GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a budget measure that puts regulation instead in the hands of the state. The measure, vetoed in 2022 before reappearing in the state budget, says regulating tobacco and alternative nicotine products should be up to the state, not municipalities. It also prevents communities from voting to restrict things like flavored e-cigarettes and sales of flavored vaping products. OHIO BANS ‘GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE’ FOR MINORS, RESTRICTS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES DESPITE GOP GOVERNOR VETO The new law will take effect in roughly 90 days, though it’s not yet clear how that could affect local governments that have any stricter tobacco rules in place. Lawmakers passed the 2022 legislation days after Ohio‘s capital city, Columbus, cleared its bans on the sale of flavored tobacco and menthol tobacco products, which would have been enacted in early 2024. Toledo and Beckley have similar bans. Anti-tobacco advocates, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and DeWine himself harshly criticized the override as a win for the tobacco industry, saying it enables addiction in children as tobacco and vaping products made with fruit or candy flavors becomes more popular and accessible to kids. Opponents of the measure also say it violates Ohio‘s home rule provision, which allows local governments to create their own ordinances as long as they do not interfere with the state’s revised code. Those against the measure have also expressed fear that it will wipe out other local tobacco restrictions entirely. Leo Almeida, government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, told The Associated Press that, as written, the law is too broad. “Taking local control away from the people who are trying to improve public health is a big mistake,” Almeida said. Senate President Matt Huffman said Wednesday that legislators have carefully reviewed the language with the Legislative Service Commission, a nonpartisan agency that drafts bills for the General Assembly, and don’t believe it impacts all possible tobacco restrictions local governments could pass. Proponents of the measure tout it as a way to maintain uniformity for tobacco laws and eliminate confusion for Ohioans. They argue the state should have control rather than communities because restrictions on the products would affect state income as a whole. DeWine has maintained that the best way to ensure uniformity in these laws would be a statewide ban on flavored tobacco. At least two states, California and Massachusetts, have passed statewide bans on selling all flavored tobacco products.
Border battle lines: Dems call on Biden to seize control of Texas National Guard, as GOP allies back Abbott
As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott continues to tout the state’s right to self-defend itself from a migrant invasion, some Democratic lawmakers are calling on President Biden to take control of the state’s National Guard. Abbott issued a lengthy statement Wednesday, saying the federal government broke the compact between the U.S. and the individual states. “The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting states, including immigration laws on the books right now,” Abbott said. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.” Abbott is fighting multiple legal battles with the Biden administration, which has threatened legal action over Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass. Texas has also filed lawsuits against the administration, which cut razor wire set up by the state on the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into Texas, as well as the establishment of buoys on the river. ABBOTT DECLARES TEXAS HAS ‘RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE’ FROM MIGRANT ‘INVASION’ AMID FEUD WITH BIDEN ADMIN While Abbott issues statements about the Biden administration overstepping its authority, Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, is accusing the governor of taking a play out of former President Trump’s playbook. “Greg Abbott has continued to use political stunts and inflammatory language to advance his own agenda, violating the Constitution and endangering both U.S. citizens and asylum seekers,” Casar posted on X. “Abbott is following the Donald Trump playbook: making immigration harder and more dangerous, so asylum seekers are pushed into the hands of cartels and the system remains broken.” Casar continued with a string of posts, saying he agreed with Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who on Tuesday tweeted Biden should seize control of the Texas National Guard. CRITICS BASH SCOTUS DECISION ALLOWING FEDS TO CUT RAZOR TEXAS INSTALLED TO STEM ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS The Supreme Court this week found in the administration’s favor when it granted an emergency appeal to allow agents to keep cutting border wire set up by Texas along the border. The state answered by publishing images of it strengthening physical barriers along Eagle Pass. The administration has also sued over a recently-signed law that allows Texas state and local officials to arrest illegal immigrants. The administration has accused Texas of interfering with federal control over immigration and border security, and said it is putting both agents and migrants in danger. “Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border,” Castro posted to X on Tuesday. “If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, @POTUS needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now.” TEXAS AG PAXTON PROMISES ‘FIGHT IS NOT OVER’ AFTER SCOTUS RULE ON BIDEN ADMIN’S RAZOR WIRE CUTTING Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, who is running for governor in the state, also called out Abbott for “using the Texas Guard to defy a Supreme Court ruling.” “When Gov. Orval Eugene Faubus did this in 1957, [President] Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas Guard to ensure compliance with the law,” O’Rourke tweeted. “Biden must follow this example of bold, decisive leadership to end this crisis before it gets worse.” DOJ RENEWS SCOTUS PUSH TO ACT AFTER TEXAS SEIZES BORDER AREAS, BLOCKS BORDER PATROL FROM ENTERING Abbott is not alone, though, in his fight for his state’s right to bolster protection along the border between Mexico and Texas. In fact, former Republican presidential candidate and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said his state will continue assisting Texas. “If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis posted on X. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it. FL will keep assisting…” SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH BIDEN IN TEXAS BORDER WIRE CASE; BORDER PATROL UNION BLASTS THE DECISION Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican, re-posted a video on X of the Texas National Guard marching. “Oklahoma stands with Texas,” Stitt wrote. Abbott made many arguments in his statement on Wednesday, which are unlikely to dissuade the administration, which has cited Supreme Court precedent for federal control over the immigration and border authority. The administration also claims it is following immigration law, while pointing to numbers of removals since May that outpace all of FY 2019. Instead, the administration says it needs additional funding from Congress and comprehensive immigration reform to correct what it claims is a “broken” system. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
More than 70 dead in artisanal mine collapse in Mali
Despite the dangers, small-scale unregulated mines continue to flourish and attract thousands of gold miners. More than 70 people have died in southwest Mali after an artisanal gold mine collapsed last week, officials have said, the latest disaster in a region prone to mining accidents. Karim Bethe, a senior National Geology and Mining Directorate official, shared the details with The Associated Press on Wednesday, calling it an accident. Oumar Sidibe, an official for gold miners in the southwestern town of Kangaba, as well as a local councillor, confirmed the death toll to the AFP news agency. “It started with a noise. The earth started to shake,” Sidibe said. “There were over 200 gold miners in the field.” While it was not clear what caused the mine collapse that occurred on Friday, the Ministry of Mines said in a statement on Tuesday that it estimated “several” miners had been killed in the Kangaba district in southwestern Koulikoro region. The ministry said it “deeply regretted” the collapse and urged miners and communities in the area to “comply with safety requirements”. A spokesperson for the ministry, Baye Coulibaly, also told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the gold panners dug galleries “without complying with the required standards”. “We have advised them against it on several occasions in vain,” Coulibaly said. [Al Jazeera] Mali’s government offered its “deepest condolences to the grieving families and to the Malian people”. It also called on “communities living near mining sites and gold miners to scrupulously respect safety requirements and to work only within the perimeters dedicated to gold panning”. Small-scale, informal artisanal miners are often accused of ignoring safety measures, especially in remote areas, and accidents like these are common in Mali, Africa’s third-largest gold producer. “The state must bring order to this artisanal mining sector to avoid these kinds of accidents in the future,” Berthe told AP. While Mali’s mining sector is dominated by foreign groups, including Canada’s Barrick Gold and B2Gold, Australia’s Resolute Mining and Britain’s Hummingbird Resources, artisanal mines continue to flourish and attract thousands of gold miners. “Gold is by far Mali’s most important export, comprising more than 80 percent of total exports in 2021,” according to the International Trade Administration within the US Department of Commerce. It added that more than two million people, or over 10 percent of Mali’s population, depend on the mining sector for income. Mali produced 72.2 tonnes of gold in 2022 and the metal contributed 25 percent of the national budget, 75 percent of export earnings and 10 percent of gross domestic product, former Minister of Mines Lamine Seydou Traore said last year. But gold mining in the Sahel region is dangerous, and human rights organisations have repeatedly condemned the use of child labour in artisanal mining operations. Adblock test (Why?)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 701
As the war enters its 701st day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Fighting A Russian military transport plane carrying 74 people crashed in the Belgorod region of southern Russia not far from the Ukrainian border. Russia said there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board who were part of a planned prisoner swap, and accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane. Ukraine did not confirm it had shot down the plane, or that Ukrainian POWs were passengers. The Ukrainian military said it would continue to target military transport aircraft it believed were carrying missiles for Russia’s war on Ukraine, and air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk accused Russia of trying to discredit Ukraine over the aircraft crash. “Ukraine has the right to defend itself and destroy the means of the aggressors’ aerial attack,” he said. Ukraine’s military intelligence service said Kyiv had not been asked to ensure air space security on Wednesday around the Belgorod area as had been the case during previous prisoner-of-war swaps with Moscow. It said it had no reliable information on who was on board the crashed plane. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for full clarity on the circumstances of the crash and accused Moscow of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war”. The RBC Ukraine news outlet said he cancelled a planned regional trip as well as events linked to his birthday to deal with the crash. Two people were killed and eight injured in the town of Hirnyk, close to the front line in the east, after a Russian missile attack hit a residential area, Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. Hirnyk lies to the northwest of Maryinka, a town still held by Ukraine but all but destroyed after many months of fighting with Russian forces. Regional governor Oleh Kiper said one person was injured in a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa, that hit residential homes and started a fire. Avdiivka mayor Vitaliy Barabash said Russian forces entered the war-battered town for the first time but were pushed back. “Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups entered the southern part of the city of Avdiivka, but they were dislodged,” Barabash told the AFP news agency but declined to say when the Russians entered the town or how long they were there. About 32,000 people lived in Avdiivka before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Politics and diplomacy Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said he was worried that the war in Ukraine had been forgotten amid crises in other parts of the world. Speaking at the end of a week-long visit to Kyiv, Grandi told the Associated Press news agency that it was important to remind the international community that Ukrainians continued to live through a brutal war and that he was concerned humanitarian aid was being held up by political wrangling. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in the western Ukrainian town of Uzhhorod where he reaffirmed support for Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, but said policy differences remained on issues including NATO accession. Fico, elected after tapping into pro-Russian sentiments, said he did not believe there was a military solution to the war, and welcomed a peace plan proposed by Ukraine’s president, although he called it unrealistic. In the first of three required readings, Russia’s State Duma passed a bill to confiscate the property, money and valuables of anyone convicted of spreading criticism of the Russian army. Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska is the first women’s qualifier to reach the Australian Open semifinals in 45 years [Mike Frey/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters] A US Senate committee approved 20 to 1 in favour of the “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity [REPO)] for Ukrainians Act”, which would help set the stage for the US to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for post-war reconstruction. The bill has broad bipartisan support but needs to pass both houses of Congress before it can be signed by the president and become law. The EU, the US, Japan and Canada froze some $300bn of Russian central bank assets in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly two years ago. Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska became the first women’s qualifier to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open in 45 years. After her latest victory, and wearing blue and yellow to match Ukraine’s flag, she said she was “proud” of those fighting for their country. Weapons German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said European nations had to “do more” to provide the weapons for Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s onslaught. “The contributions that European nations have earmarked for 2024 so far are not big enough,” Scholz told Die Zeit weekly in an interview. Adblock test (Why?)
‘Traitor’: Thousands strike against Argentina’s President Javier Milei
Buenos Aires, Argentina – In the biggest show of resistance to date against far-right President Javier Milei, Argentinian workers have taken to the streets for a general strike, bringing swaths of downtown Buenos Aires to a standstill. It was an unprecedented mobilisation. Never before in modern Argentinian history has a mass strike been called less than seven weeks into a new presidency. But leaders from Argentina’s largest labour union say the nationwide protests reflect the urgency they feel as Milei pursues radical economic and political reforms he likens to “shock therapy”. Thousands of protesters swarmed the square in front of Argentina’s Congress on Wednesday, denouncing Milei’s sweeping plans to overhaul the government, privatise public industries and slash spending. Some banged pots and carried signs accusing Milei of being a “traitor”. Other banners featured the portrait of working-class icon Evita Peron. Elizabeth Gutierrez made her way to the gathering after working an overnight shift as a nurse. She explained she was motivated by steep increases in food prices since Milei took office. “Before we used to have asados [barbecues] every Sunday. Not now. Even rice is very expensive,” Gutierrez said. “Rents have shot up. You can’t live off your salary any more: It’s not enough.” “The people are here to defend their nation,” she added. Protester Alicia Pereyra, 63, says her life has been turned ‘upside down’ since Javier Milei’s inauguration [Lautaro Grinspan/Al Jazeera] Another protester, 63-year-old retiree Alicia Pereyra, voiced opposition to Milei’s efforts to deregulate the economy, including plans to “modernise” labour law and ditch rent regulation. “He wants us to be slaves,” Pereyra said. Draped in an Argentinian flag, Pereyra worried about her ability to make ends meet in the face of Milei’s reforms. Her retirement income amounts to only 85,000 pesos per month — about $70. She said basic necessities had become so costly under Milei that she is unsure whether she will be able to access the medicine she needs for a chronic illness. Even small luxuries are now out of reach. Pereyra described how she and her husband opted for orange juice instead of wine to make their New Year’s toast for 2024, breaking a long-running family tradition. “It’s a horrible feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow,” she said. “[Milei] is turning our heads upside down.” Protesters clanged pots and pans on the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 24 [Lautaro Grinspan/Al Jazeera] Extreme measures exacerbate extreme inflation Argentina had already been suffering from record triple-digit inflation when Milei took office on December 10. Elected on the promise that he would fix the sputtering economy, Milei quickly moved to implement austerity measures that he said were needed to get Argentina’s finances in order. In his inauguration address, he warned the country that Argentina’s situation would get worse before it got better. And he was right. One of his earliest measures was to devalue the Argentinian peso by 54 percent, which accelerated the already sky-high inflation rates. According to the National Institute for Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), Argentina ended 2023 with annual inflation of 211.4 percent, the steepest rate in Latin America, surpassing even Venezuela. The year also clocked the fastest inflation hikes since 1990, resulting in higher prices for consumers. Santiago Manoukian, chief economist at the consulting firm Ecolatina, told Al Jazeera that December’s price increases will continue hitting consumers’ pocketbooks for the next several months. Salaries will have a hard time keeping up. “We believe that real wages fell in December more than in any other month since at least 2002,” he said. “Purchasing power is going to continue to go down.” That trend is expected to slow consumer spending, which Manoukian said will likely result in a recession and an uptick in unemployment and poverty. Four in 10 Argentines were already in poverty when Milei took office, according to national data. Thousands of Argentinians participated in Wednesday’s nationwide strike, called by one of the country’s largest labour unions [Lautaro Grinspan/Al Jazeera] Omnibus bill proceeds to Congress amid strike Milei coupled his currency devaluation measure with immediate cuts to government spending, including consumer subsidies. One presidential “mega-decree” in December reformed or overturned dozens of laws and paved the way for the privatisation of state-run companies. Another decree axed 5,000 government jobs. But further changes are on the way. Wednesday’s nationwide strike comes as Congress prepares to consider a slimmed-down version of Milei’s “omnibus law” the following day. Originally containing 664 articles, the bill sought to reimagine the country’s elections, restructure the lower chamber of Congress and enact tough new restrictions on protests, including through penalties of up to six years in prison. The streamlined version is still massive, with over 500 articles. If passed, it would hand broad legislative powers to Milei’s executive branch for an “emergency” period of one year. Still, the president dismissed Wednesday’s strike as evidence of backward thinking. “There are two Argentinas,” he told local media. “One wants to stay behind, in the past, in decadence.” Members of his administration likewise blasted the protesters. On Wednesday, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich — Milei’s erstwhile rival on the campaign trail — called the union groups that organised the strike “gangsters” and “guarantors of poverty”. “There’s no strike that will be able to stop us,” she wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Retirees carrying handwritten signs denounce austerity measures enacted under President Javier Milei in Argentina[Lautaro Grinspan/Al Jazeera] Expert compares Milei to a ’mini-Trump’ Federico Finchelstein, a New York-based historian and fascism scholar, said Milei’s first month in office has demonstrated his “authoritarian style of populism”. He drew parallels to Donald Trump, the controversial — but popular — former president of the United States who sought to claim broad executive authority while in office. Finchelstein likened Milei to a “mini-Trump”. “It’s a type of populism that looks to undermine democratic institutions,” Finchelstein said. But despite the criticism and protests he faces, Milei continues to enjoy broad support among Argentinians. One survey this month,
Ayodhya Ram temple gets over 2.5 lakh devotees on Wednesday, Rs 3.17 crore in donation in 1 day
Devotees can now offer prayers between 6 am and 10 pm as against the earlier timings of 7 am to 11.30 am and 2 pm to 7 pm.
WATCH: White House touts ‘fiery’ Biden abortion speech despite a much-noticed flub, frequent interruptions
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre touted President Biden’s Tuesday speech in Virginia on abortion as “fiery” despite a much-noticed flub and the near-constant interruptions by protesters concerning his administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. Her defense of the speech came as she was pressed by multiple reporters during the White House briefing on whether Biden was “frustrated” he wasn’t able to deliver it as intended, and whether he was braced for more protests at future public events. “I mean, look, the president, from my view — and I think your colleagues have written about this — it was a fiery speech. It was a deeply, deeply impactful speech. You heard how the crowd reacted to the speech. It was a speech that I think landed in the way that talked about how this president, and his entire administration, is going to fight for women,” Jean-Pierre said. HUNTER HAS TIES TO NEARLY 2 DOZEN CURRENT, FORMER BIDEN OFFICIALS AS FEDERAL CHARGES, HOUSE PROBES LOOM She added that Biden believes Americans have the right to have their voices heard “as long as they do it peacefully.” “We respect that,” she said. Despite her claims, Biden was ripped on social media for one instance during the speech in which he slurred a nearly incoherent line about former President Donald Trump and women in America. “We’ll teach Donald Trump a valuable lesson: Don’t mess with the women of America unless you want to get the benefit!” Biden appeared to say. He was subsequently blasted by critics over his age and cognitive ability, a common critique of the president, even from within his own party. RECORD GOP TURNOUT, CALLS FOR HALEY TO LEAVE RACE ROUND OUT TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARIES Biden was interrupted multiple times during the speech as he shared the stage with Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Throughout the time he was speaking, multiple protesters interrupted by shouting critiques of his administration’s handling of Israel’s ongoing ground offensive against the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Immediately after beginning his remarks, a male protester with a Palestinian flag shouted, “How many kids have you killed?” The protester was drowned out by the crowd chanting “four more years” as security escorted the protester out. HUNTER BIDEN’S ART DEALER LASHES OUT AFTER TESTIMONY, SAYS CONGRESS IS WHERE ‘REAL’ INFLUENCE PEDDLING HAPPENS Biden began his remarks again but was soon interrupted by another protester, a woman who shouted, “Israel kills two mothers every hour.” The second protester was also escorted out as the pro-Biden crowd again shouted “four more years.” Biden plowed ahead with his remarks and was continually interrupted. By the end, around a dozen protesters interrupted the president, shouting slogans like “Stop funding genocide” and “Genocide Joe has got to go.” “This is going to go on for a while; they got this planned,” Biden said as the protesters were escorted out one by one.
Abbott declares Texas has ‘right to self-defense’ from migrant ‘invasion’ amid feud with Biden admin
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is touting a right to “self-defense” from a migrant “invasion” at the southern border, as the state fights a multi-pronged battle with the Biden administration. “The federal government has broken the compact between the United States and the States,” a lengthy statement by the Texas Republican says. “The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting states, including immigration laws on the books right now. President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.” Abbott is currently fighting multiple legal battles with the administration. The federal government has threatened legal action over Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass, while lawsuits are ongoing over the administration’s cutting of razor wire set up by Texas and the establishment of buoys in the Rio Grande. The Supreme Court this week found in the administration’s favor when it granted an emergency appeal to allow agents to keep cutting border wire set up by Texas along the border. Texas this week published images of it strengthening physical barriers along Eagle Pass. TEXAS AG PAXTON PROMISES ‘FIGHT IS NOT OVER’ AFTER SCOTUS RULE ON BIDEN ADMIN’S RAZOR WIRE CUTTING The administration has also sued over a recently-signed law that allows Texas state and local officials to arrest illegal immigrants. The administration has accused Texas of interfering with federal control over immigration and border security, and has said it is putting agents and migrants in danger. Abbott, however, cited constitutional language that demands the federal government “protect each [State] against invasion” and the right of states to protect their own borders. Abbott argues that “the failure of the Biden administration” to fulfill those duties triggers a clause in Article 1 that “reserves to this State the right of self-defense.” He notes he has already declared an “invasion” to invoke the authority, which he calls “the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary.” DOJ RENEWS SCOTUS PUSH TO ACT AFTER TEXAS SEIZES BORDER AREAS, BLOCKS BORDER PATROL FROM ENTERING The arguments from Abbott are unlikely to dissuade the administration, which has cited Supreme Court precedent for federal control over the immigration and border authority. The administration has also claimed it is following immigration law, and has pointed to numbers of removals since May that outpaced the entirety of FY 2019. Instead, it says it needs more funding from Congress and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a “broken” system. SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH BIDEN IN TEXAS BORDER WIRE CASE; BORDER PATROL UNION BLASTS THE DECISION “Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border,” a recent White House statement said. “The President has been clear that we need adequate resources and policy changes, and that our immigration system is broken. That is why on his first day in office he presented Congress with a comprehensive immigration reform plan, and that is why he is working to find a bipartisan agreement with Congress that includes funding and meaningful reforms,” they added.