Editorial: Restraining cruelty

Texas defied the authority of the US Supreme Court by moving to install more razor wire in the Rio Grande River after the court ruled 5-4 last week that federal authorities could remove the deadly barricades. The high court found that federal agents were being denied access to the border by the state barricade, and thus could not do their jobs.

Texas officials dismissed the ruling. It refuses to let the Border Patrol get to the river at Eagles Pass. The Texas Military Authority, which oversees the National Guard under Gov. Greg Abbott, said it “continues to hold the line in Shelby Park to deter and prevent unlawful entry into the State of Texas.” Abbott is thumbing his nose at the rule of law, thinking that he rules his own Republic.

The razor wire is cruel and inhumane. It harms wildlife. It limits the ability of the Border Patrol to monitor and use the river to enforce the law. The Supreme Court ruling is temporary while the matter is heard at a federal appeals court Feb. 7. It was heartening that five justices imposed human decency for a few weeks, and put one of the 50 states in its place.

Meanwhile, the US Senate is reportedly working on another bipartisan approach to border security and immigration with the support of the Biden Administration. It might be another pipe dream that gets vaporized by the House Freedom Caucus. The swelling number of people at the border, the drownings in the Rio Grande, the homeless people in New York and Chicago and Denver, screams for a response in the spirit of America welcoming the refugee.