Eagle Pass, Texas, July 18, 2023 Asylum-seeking migrants rest on the island as they attempt to cross the Rio Grande into the United States.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Justice Department sues Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday floating barrier The state put the measure in place on the Rio Grande to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The lawsuit asks the court to compel the state of Texas to remove a roughly 1,000-foot (305-meter) line of bright orange, wrecking-ball-sized buoys set up by the Biden administration. Says it raises humanitarian and environmental concerns. The suit also alleges that the state of Texas illegally installed the barrier near the border city of Eagle Pass without a permit.
buoy is The latest escalation of border security operations in Texas It also included barbed wire fencing, the arrest and deportation of migrants for trespassing A bus full of asylum seekers To cities led by Democrats in other states.
Concerned about the lawsuit, Abbott sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday defending Texas’ right to install the wall. He accused Biden of putting them at risk by not doing more to stop immigrants from traveling to the United States.
“Mr. President, the State of Texas will see you in court,” Abbott wrote in the letter.
Illegal border crossings have dropped dramatically since new immigration rules, Biden administration says Effective from May.
The Justice Department warned Texas in a letter last week that the state had until Monday to commit to removing the barrier or face lawsuits. The buoy wall “poses risks to navigation and public safety on the Rio Grande and raises humanitarian concerns,” the letter said.
country deploys buoys Without notice International Council on Boundaries and Water Resources or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mexico’s secretary of state has asked the federal government to intervene, saying the wall violates international treaties.