The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for installing a floating barrier on the Rio Grande. This marks another effort by GOP officials to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The state stationed the buoys without notifying the International Boundary and Water Commission or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Justice Department’s filing asks a federal judge to force Texas to remove the 1,000-foot line of buoys and claims that its installation was unlawful.
Texas is known for its aggressive border control tactics. The state has put up razor-wire fencing, arrested migrants on trespassing charges and put large groups of asylum-seekers on buses to Democratic cities in other states.
In May, the administration lifted Title 41, which allowed authorities to expel migrants at the U.S. border in an attempt to minimize the spread of Covid-19, under a court order. Since then, Biden has touted his immigration plan for minimizing the number of illegal border crossings and has pushed for states to cooperate with the new policies.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre condemned Abbott and other Texas officials for taking steps backward.
“[The buoys] are unlawful actions that are not helpful and are undermining what the president has put forward and is trying to do,” said Jean-Pierre.
