DOJ Sues Greg Abbott Over Southern Border Controversy
By Nikki Slusher
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Monday against Governor Greg Abbot (R-TX) over the floating barrier at the southern border on the Rio Grande. The state of Texas claims the barrier is to deter migrants from illegally crossing, but the Biden administration disagrees and called it a public safety threat.
The DOJ filed the suit in the state capital of Austin. Federal law make obstruction of waters illegal, which the DOJ states Gov. Abbott violated in building the structures. It further claims that Abbott’s structures in the river would need to be approved by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state would have to obtain a permit. At this time no permit has been filed by Texas officials.
“This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta released in a statement per Politico. “Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy.”
The Rio Grande barricade consists of large buoys to deter migrants coming into the U.S. from Mexico. Barbed wire also surrounds the area known as Eagle Pass, something extremely dangerous and what most say is inhumane. A pregnant migrant was recently trapped in the fencing and suffered a miscarriage.
It was expected that the Justice Department would file a lawsuit after it told Gov. Abbott that it planned to if the barriers were not removed. The department wrote in its letter that Texas conducted “unlawful construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River” and contended that the barricade may obstruct the federal government’s “official duties” at the border. The department gave the state until Monday to comply with the request, however, Gov. Abbott refused to do so.
In a letter Abbott wrote that, “To end the risk that migrants will be harmed crossing the border illegally, you must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry.” The Governor doubled down on his stance during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier where Abbott claimed the barrier had repelled “tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands” of migrants from illegally crossing into the U.S.
Abbott said he is willing to take the case to the Supreme Court to protect his state’s “sovereignty and its constitutional right to secure the border of our state and our country.” He stated that until President Biden enforces stricter border control policies, Texas would be “stepping up to do so.”
“Instead of coming to the table and trying to figure out a way to work together, [Abbott] continues to do this really cruel, unjust, inhumane ways of moving forward with a system that has been broken for decades,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Vice President Kamala Harris told a Chicago audience that Abbott’s border tactics are “inhumane, outrageous and un-American.”
That’s not all of Abbott’s problems with the DOJ. A spokesperson confirmed last week that the department is looking into complaints regarding Texas state troopers being ordered to push migrants back into the water, including children and babies. Sounds like Abbott is really giving folks a dose of the GOP’s version of southern hospitality.
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