TEXAS — The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue Texas over the floating buoy barrier it has placed in the Rio Grande, near the city of Eagle Pass, CNN reported Friday, citing a letter it obtained and sources.
CNN said the Justice Department sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday that leaves time for the state to respond. The department says the barrier violates federal law, raises humanitarian concerns and poses a risk to public safety and the environment.
Specifically, CNN reported, the DOJ cites a law that “prohibits the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States, and further prohibits building any structure in such waters without authorization from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.”
Abbott on Friday responded to the potential lawsuit in a series of tweets, writing, “The tragic humanitarian crisis on the border was created because of Biden’s refusal to secure the border. His open border policies encourage migrants to risk their lives crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, instead of safely and legally over a bridge. Texas is stepping up to address this crisis. 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.”
Texas has already been sued once over the barrier. An Eagle Pass kayaking outfitter claims the buoys are prohibiting him from accessing the river.
A week ago, Mexico’s top diplomat said her country has sent a diplomatic note to the U.S. government expressing concern that Texas’ deployment of the barriers may violate 1944 and 1970 treaties on boundaries and water.
Foreign Relations Secretary Alicia Bárcena said Mexico will send an inspection team to the Rio Grande to see whether any of the barrier extends into Mexico’s side of the border river.
The Justice Department’s actions are separate from but come following a report culled from an email claiming Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were directed to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water. That email, from a Texas trooper-medic, also said that razor wire the state has placed in the barrier is severely injuring migrants. Texas leaders have been adamant this week that no such orders were given and that the buoys and wire are there to deter migrants from crossing the river.
“At no point has any trooper been told to physically push any migrant back into the river, let alone a child. Just hearing some of those comments is outrageous,” Lt. Christopher Olivarez, a DPS spokesperson, said in an interview with Spectrum News.
“What we mean by pushing back, we’re talking about messaging. We’re talking about having a show of force, standing at the river telling migrants that it is closed. You can’t cross here. You need to go to a port of entry and seek asylum where it’s safe, where it’s humane. That’s the process. That’s the objective for our operation,” Olivarez continued.
On Friday, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and more than 80 other House Democrats in a letter called on the Biden administration to investigate Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border enforcement program.
“We ask that you immediately intervene to stop Governor Greg Abbott’s actions and, as appropriate, pursue legal action given the serious and credible allegations of harm to migrants, interference in the federal enforcement of immigration laws, and violations of treaty commitments with Mexico,” the letter reads. “Operation Lone Star’s programs and policies, specifically the recent erection of razor wire or buoy walls, pose a huge danger to migrants and impedes the ability of our border patrol offices to safely and humanely treat migrants as well as to comply with relevant federal and international laws.”
The Associated Press and Capital Tonight’s Reena Diamante contributed to this report.
