Texas Governor Greg Abbott isn’t backing down after President Joe Biden’s Justice Department sued the state over the use of a floating barrier on the Rio Grande to keep illegal immigrants on the right side of the border, defiantly firing back that he’ll see them in court.
On Monday, the DOJ followed through on its threat of the lawsuit which it made in a letter to the Lone Star State leader last week, claiming that the measures put into place by Texas to do what the administration has refused to do by deploying the marine barrier obstructs “the navigable capacity of waters of the United States” and that the state did not get permission from the federal government.
“We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a DOJ statement announcing the lawsuit. “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.”
Abbott took to Twitter with a defiant message for Washington just before the DOJ made it official, saying, “President Biden’s Dept. of Justice threatened to sue Texas over the marine barriers we deployed on the Rio Grande.”
“Mr. President, Texas will see you in court,” the governor wrote, sharing a copy of a press release. “Texas will fully utilize our sovereign authority to deal with the humanitarian crisis Biden created at our border.”
President Biden’s Dept. of Justice threatened to sue Texas over the marine barriers we deployed on the Rio Grande.
Mr. President, Texas will see you in court.
Texas will fully utilize our sovereign authority to deal with the humanitarian crisis Biden created at our border. pic.twitter.com/hlnHahwDi8
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 24, 2023
In a Monday letter to Biden, the governor said: “If you truly care about human life, you must begin enforcing federal immigration laws. By doing so, you can help me stop migrants from wagering their lives in the waters of the Rio Grande River. You can also help me save Texans, and indeed all Americans, from deadly drugs like fentanyl, cartel violence, and the horrors of human trafficking.”
“To end the risk that migrants will be harmed crossing the border illegally, you must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry. In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused,” Abbott wrote.
Abbott later appeared on Fox News where he reacted to the lawsuit, vowing to take it all the way to the Supreme Court if that’s what it takes to defend his state’s sovereign authority.
Texas will see the Biden Administration in court to aggressively defend our sovereign authority to secure the border.
Biden’s open border policies created this humanitarian disaster.
Texas will continue to exercise our constitutional right to respond. pic.twitter.com/699k8xR7vn
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 24, 2023
“A lawsuit was filed a few hours ago, in a federal court in the state of Texas,” he told Bret Baier. “We will litigate it initially in a federal district court in the state of Texas. If we lose there, we will be going to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and eventually all the way to the United States Supreme Court because Texas is defending its sovereignty and its constitutional right to secure the border of our state and our country.”
“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,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in the DOJ press release. “We intend to seek the appropriate legal remedies, including the removal of such obstructions in the Rio Grande.”
“The Rio Grande is a significant stretch of the southern border of our country,” noted U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas.
“We must all recognize that there are laws and policies in place – both domestic and international – to ensure the safety and security of everyone working, living and traveling along the river. These laws cannot be ignored, and my office will take and support the appropriate legal action to uphold them,” he said in the statement shared by the DOJ.
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