Immigration

Biden Admin Sues Texas Over Floating Border Barrier

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The Biden administration is suing Texas over its floating buoy barrier along the southern border, according to a Monday court filing.

The lawsuit alleges that Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott violated several areas of the law and that Abbott should be required to promptly remove the barrier, according to the court filing. Abbott announced in early June that the state of Texas would erect a floating buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River to deter illegal immigration.

The lawsuit alleges that Abbott’s barrier violates two sections of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 for allegedly obstructing navigable waters and allegedly flouting approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the court filing.

Migrants walk by a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 15, 2023, to prevent illegal immigration entry to the US. (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)

The Department of Justice (DOJ) threatened legal action in a letter to Abbott last week, to which the Texas governor responded: “See you in court, Mr. President.” Abbott responded Monday, reiterating his willingness to fight the Biden administration’s efforts to end the buoy barriers at the border.

“While I share the humanitarian concerns noted in your lawyers’ letter, Mr. President, your finger points in the wrong direction. Neither of us wants to see another death in the Rio Grande River. Yet your open-border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water, instead of safely and legally at a port of entry. Nobody drowns on a bridge,” Abbott’s letter read.

“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. In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused,” Abbott’s letter read.