The Justice Department has said it plans to sue the state of Texas if it doesn’t remove the 1,000-foot floating barrier in the Rio Grande river in an attempt to deter illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States.
“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the DOJ said in a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this week.
Gov. Abbott pushed back on Twitter, saying “Texas has the sovereign authority to defend our border, under the US Constitution and the Texas Constitution.”
The huge orange buoys, which measure 4-feet each, were initially installed near Eagle Pass, Texas, but designed to be moved and extended to cover other parts of the Rio Grande if necessary.
From The New York Post:
The buoys are just the latest move in Abbott’s multibillion-dollar operation to try and secure the Lone Star state’s border with Mexico. Other escalations have included razor-wire fencing and arresting a slew of migrants on trespassing charges.
