UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil complaint against Texas. The complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting Texas from installing floating barriers in the Rio Grande River and an order requiring the state to remove those barriers already in place.
The U.S. Department of Justice threatened legal action against Texas over the state’s “unlawful construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River.” The barriers are part of Texas’s Operation Lone Star, an anti-illegal immigration program Legal Insurrection has covered.
Shortly after receiving the threat, Abbott responded on his official Twitter account, vowing to continue Operation Lone Star and meet the threatened legal challenge in court:
The letter gave Texas until “2:00 PM Eastern Time on July 24, 2023,” to “commit[] to expeditiously remove the floating barrier and related structures” or else face “legal action.” Texas announced its reply in a press release this morning.
In the reply letter, Texas Governor Greg Abbott reiterated his refusal to back down. Abbott reminded President Joe Biden of his failure to follow his “constitutional obligation to defend the States against invasion through faithful execution of federal laws.”
Abbott also countered the accusations in the DOJ letter
The DOJ letter accused Texas of violating the Rivers and Harbors Act. Texas allegedly violated the act by creating an “obstruction to the navigable capacity” of U.S. waters and failing to consult the Army Corps of Engineers before constructing the barriers.
Abbott’s letter challenges the DOJ’s interpretation of the Rivers and Harbors Act, claiming the law does not apply to the type of structures Texas has constructed.
The DOJ letter also alleges Texas’s anti-illegal immigration measures “raise humanitarian concerns.”
Abbott’s response notes he “share[s] the humanitarian concerns” expressed in the DOJ letter but directs the blame at Biden: “[Y]our 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 letter came shortly after an email, purportedly from a Texas trooper, accused some officials of ordering the use of “inhumane” procedures as part of Operation Lone Star, including the denial of water to illegal immigrants.
Abbott’s office vigorously denied these allegations:
All personnel assigned to Operation Lone Star are prepared to detect and respond to any individuals who may need water or medical attention. Operation Lone Star agency partners use verbal warnings and signage to direct migrants attempting to illegally cross from Mexico into Texas to use ports of entry to protect the lives of migrants, DPS troopers, and Texas National Guard soldiers.
The DOJ letter to Texas:
The Texas response to the DOJ:
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