Immigrants seek asylum on an island as they cross the Rio Grande into the United States on July 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
The Justice Department on Monday filed charges against Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott. floating barrier It was installed by the state on the Rio Grande River to block immigrants entering the United States from Mexico.
The lawsuit seeks a court to force Texas to remove a 1,000-foot (305-meter) bright orange wrecking ball-sized buoy installed by the Biden administration. say it raises humanitarian and environmental concerns. The lawsuit also alleges that Texas illegally erected a barrier without a permit near the border city of Eagle Pass.
the buoy is Latest Escalation of Texas Border Patrol Efforts This includes wire fencing, arresting immigrants for trespassing and transferring money. A bus carrying asylum seekers Even in Democratic-led cities in other states.
In anticipation of the lawsuit, Mr. Abbott sent a letter Monday to President Joe Biden defending Texas’ right to erect a barrier. He accused Biden of putting immigrants at risk by failing to do more to block travel to the United States.
“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote in the letter.
Biden administration says illegal border crossings have dropped significantly since new immigration rules came into force in May.
The Justice Department wrote last week warning Texas that it must either work to remove the barrier by Monday or face lawsuits. The letter said the wall of buoys “posed a danger to navigation and public safety on the Rio Grande and raised humanitarian concerns.”
the country deployed buoys without notice International Boundary Water Commission or US Army Corps of Engineers. Mexico’s secretary of state called on the federal government to intervene, saying the barrier violated an international treaty.
