TEXAS —  On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ordered a temporary halt to the Biden administration's removal of razor wire along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.

Texas sued the administration in October after Border Patrol cut sections of the concertina wire fence. The razor wire was placed as a deterrent to prevent illegal border crossings.

For now, the wire can only be cut in the event of a medical emergency.

The razor wire is part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s sprawling border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, which seeks to both deter migrants from entering from Mexico and funnel those who cross to ports of entry. Migrants of all ages, including children, have received lacerations and injuries from their contact with the wire.

Texas contends the federal government is “undermining” its border security efforts by cutting the razor wire. In the lawsuit, the state pointed out that thousands of migrants have entered the country illegally in Eagle Pass.

“I am very pleased the appellate court has forbidden federal agents sent by the Biden administration from destroying our concertina wire fences,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Given the ongoing disaster at the southern border due to the federal government’s intentional actions, more than ever it is necessary to take every step we can to hold the line.”

The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is temporary while the legal battle over the barrier continues.

“The district court found that Defendants’ employees have repeatedly ‘damage[d], destroy[ed], and exercis[ed] dominion over state property’ and “show[ed] that they intend to prevent [Texas] from ‘maintaining operational control over its own property,’” the court wrote.

State authorities started rolling out miles of the concertina wire in May before the end of Title 42, a temporary emergency health authority used to turn migrants back during the pandemic.