Texas Gov. Greg Abbot in a letter Monday said he won’t remove the floating barriers or a razor wire fence he installed to deter immigration across the Rio Grande river, ignoring a Department of Justice-imposed deadline of 2 p.m. to promise their removal or face a lawsuit from the federal government.
Migrants walk between Concertina wire and a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande ... [+]
In a letter dated Monday, Abbot accused President Joe Biden of violating his "constitutional obligation to defend the States against invasion" and said if he would "just enforce the immigration laws Congress already has on the books, America would not be suffering from your record-breaking level of illegal immigration."
The letter is in response to the Department of Justice, which set a deadline Monday for the governor to commit to the buoys’ removal to avoid a lawsuit.
In a Twitter thread Friday afternoon, Abbott responded and said, “Texas has the sovereign authority to defend our border,” and added in a later tweet, “We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texans and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives. We will see you in court, Mr. President.”
At least one local business owner has sued Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety, Mexico's government has said the border violates international agreements and the DOJ has said the barrier not only violates federal law but also raises “humanitarian concerns,” according to a letter obtained by CNN.
Matthew Nies, spokesman for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, told Forbes Friday that the government plans to “pursue legal action” and a State Department spokesperson told the Dallas Morning News that Abbot did not consult the federal government before installing the wiring or buoys.
Migrants seeking asylum walk through an island while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river into ... [+]
The floating barriers in the Rio Grande river, and a new razor wire fence in the area, is the latest effort by the governor to physically enforce the U.S.-Mexico border and deter migrants. Abbot’s border policies have been dubbed Operation Lone Star. The buoys, announced by Abbot in June, are 4 feet in diameter and look like large, orange balls which are impossible to scale from the water. The buoys were installed in a 1,000-foot segment of the river, but Abbott said more could be added if they're successful in deterring border crossings. Migrants, including children, have been left cut and bloody by the razor wire at the Texas shoreline, USA Today reported, adding that many have arrived in the U.S. with lacerations and open wounds. Eighty-seven Democrats asked Biden to intervene in Texas’ border practices in a letter Friday, per Politico, and eight members of Congress from Texas sent a letter to the DOJ on July 13 calling the buoys a “dangerous stunt that prioritizes political posturing over the safety and well-being of both Texans and migrants.”
“If you truly care about human life, you must begin enforcing federal immigration laws, Abbott said in his letter to Biden Monday. “By doing so, you can help me stop migrants from wagering their lives in the waters of the Rio Grande.”
- That's how many migrant bodies were recovered by federal officials along the Mexican border in fiscal year 2022, which ended Sept. 30, according to the Wall Street Journal. A record 2.2 million migrants were arrested along the border, per WSJ.
Texas Will Block Migrants In Rio Grande Using Wall Of Buoys, Gov. Abbott Says (Forbes)