DOJ Sues Texas and Gov. Abbott Over Border Buoys and Razor Wire: ‘Threat To Public Safety’
AP Photo/Eric Gay
The Department of Justice filed suit against the state of Texas for constructing a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River to deter migrants from crossing into the United States.
According to NBC News, “The DOJ said the barriers endanger public safety and could obstruct the federal government’s official duties, among other concerns.” Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has refused to remove the buoys and the razor wire that connects them, claiming that the federal government was impeding on the state’s “sovereignty.”
Both the DOJ and Abbott have exchanged letters over the issue, with Abbott writing, “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.”
The DOJ threatened to take legal action unless Texas responded Monday afternoon with its commitment to remove the barrier.
After filing the civil suit, the DOJ released a statement, quoting two officials with the attorney general’s office:
“We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns. Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy.”
“The Rivers and Harbors Act is clear in prohibiting the placement of any unauthorized barriers or obstructions in the Rio Grande and other navigable waters of the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We intend to seek the appropriate legal remedies, including the removal of such obstructions in the Rio Grande.”
Mexico filed its own complaint against Texas on Friday after migrant advocates “voiced concerns about drowning risks from the buoys and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river,” reported National Public Radio.
U.S. Officers at the border recovered the bodies of four migrants, including an infant, who drowned in the Rio Grande this month. CNN reported, “Immigrant rights advocates have attributed the rise in deaths at the border to policies that have made it more difficult for migrants to seek refuge in the US.”
Read the DOJ’s entire statement here.
