Justice Department sues Texas over a floating barrier in Rio Grande intended to deter migrant crossings

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The Justice Department on Monday filed a lawsuit against Texas and its Republican governor for placing buoys in the Rio Grande as part of the state’s effort to deter migrants from crossing into the United States.

The civil suit said Gov. Greg Abbott violated federal law by installing the barrier and asked a judge to order the defendants to “promptly remove the unauthorized obstruction” at their own expense.

The lawsuit cites the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 which bars the “creation of any obstruction not affirmatively authorized by Congress, to the navigable capacity of any of the waters of the United States.”

It also alleges that Abbott had failed to obtain a permit through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before installing the barrier in the Rio Grande as required by federal law.

A worker helps deploy a string of large buoys to be used as a border barrier at the center of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11, 2023.
A worker helps deploy a string of large buoys to be used as a barrier at the center of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11. Eric Gay / AP

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which comes after the Justice Department on Thursday notified Abbott of its intent to sue unless Texas acted to remove the buoys by Monday afternoon, arguing that the barrier endangered public safety and could obstruct the federal government’s official duties, among other concerns.

Earlier Monday, Abbott sent a letter sent to President Joe Biden accusing him of attempting to hamstring his state’s “sovereign interest” in securing its border.

“In a late-night letter sent to me last Thursday, your lawyers at the Department of Justice threatened to sue the State of Texas over the floating marine barriers we have deployed in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass,” Abbott wrote. “Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.”


Migrants trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico approach the site where workers are assembling large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11, 2023.
Migrants trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico approach the site where workers are assembling large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11, 2023.Eric Gay / AP

Abbott also argued that Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act doesn’t apply to Texas’ actions, adding that while he shares the administration’s concern for migrants’ welfare, Biden’s “finger points in the wrong direction.”

“Neither of us wants to see another death in the Rio Grande River,” Abbott wrote. “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.”

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