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Biden DOJ suing Abbott over Texas buoy barrier in border river
Washington Examiner ^ | | July 21, 2023 02:31 PM | by Anna Giaritelli, Homeland Security Reporter

Posted on 07/21/2023 11:54:02 AM PDT by Red Badger

AUSTIN, Texas — The Biden administration is planning to sue Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) in the coming days over the state's placement of a 1,000-foot-long barrier of floating buoys in the river at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to multiple reports Friday morning.

The Justice Department sent the three-term Republican governor a letter on Thursday alerting the state of its forthcoming lawsuit over its floating wall in Eagle Pass, Texas, according to CNN, which obtained a copy of the letter.

Courtesy image: Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX)

“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 wrote in the letter.

The DOJ added that federal law bars the "creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States, and further prohibits building any structure in such waters without authorization from the United States Army Corps of Engineers."

The legal action came just one day after the White House strongly criticized Texas's border fence but did not call it illegal.

A reporter asked about the fence during the afternoon press briefing and whether it violated any laws, leading to a sharp response from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

"I can't speak to the legal piece of the wires," Jean-Pierre told Dallas Morning News reporter Todd Gillman. "What I can say is that we're going to continue to condemn any actions, these types of actions, that [Abbott] takes. When it comes to treating these immigrants in an inhumane way, that we'll be very clear about."

Dozens of large buoys that are set to be deployed in the Rio Grande are unloaded, Friday, July 7, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas, where border crossings continue to place stress on local resources. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Abbott announced on June 8 that the state would erect a maritime wall in the coming weeks.

Texas moved forward with the installation in early July despite being sued by an Eagle Pass-based kayak tour company days earlier.

Epi's Canoe and Kayak Team owner Jesse Fuentes sued Abbott over the buoys on the basis that he would be "unable to conduct tours and canoe and kayak sessions in Eagle Pass because of the installation of the buoys" and will sustain "imminent and irreparable harm."

The lawsuit argued that Abbott's use of the Texas Disaster Act was unfounded. Abbott vowed to fight the Biden administration all the way to the highest court.

"We will see you in court," Abbott tweeted on July 7. "And don't think the Travis Co. Court will be the end of it. This is going to the Supreme Court. Texas has a constitutional right to secure our border."

Mexico also filed a complaint over the buoys, citing a violation of a water treaty.

Abbott initially said the barrier would serve as another layer of border security and deter immigrants from crossing in certain areas and funnel people who do cross to other parts of the river where federal and state officials can apprehend them.

"When we're dealing with 100 or 1,000 people, one of the goals is to slow down and deter as many of them as possible," Abbott said on June 8. "Some may eventually get to the border where they are going to face that multilayered razor wire and a full force of National Guard and DPS officers."

The impending lawsuit is not related to separate concerns about a rising number of injuries and deaths of immigrants as a result of attempting to cross the border into Eagle Pass. The state's concertina wire and buoys have made crossing so treacherous that one Texas Department of Public Safety trooper-medic told his superior these border policies "have stepped over the line into the inhumane," according to an email he sent that was obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Eighty House Democrats rallied together on Friday in a united call for the Biden administration to intervene in Abbott's Operation Lone Star border security initiative.

SEE VIDEOS AT LINK.......................

Locals told the Washington Examiner in June they were optimistic about the idea of a maritime barrier but worried the measure was already too little, too late.

Haisten Willis contributed to this report.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: aliens; barrier; border; illegalimmigration; immigration; texas
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1 posted on 07/21/2023 11:54:02 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Biden wants to replace Americans with illegal immigrants.
“An unrelenting stream” (32 second video)

https://youtu.be/xZ2FY05jW3g


2 posted on 07/21/2023 11:57:47 AM PDT by Dalberg-Acton
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To: Red Badger

3 posted on 07/21/2023 12:00:53 PM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Red Badger

Ignore it. Make the feds remove them. Feds do not obey court orders.


4 posted on 07/21/2023 12:02:36 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: Red Badger

A press article bemoaning these barriers as inhumane that I read earlier gave me the impression that they were easy to blunder into unawares. Just another knock to my trust of the press...


5 posted on 07/21/2023 12:03:12 PM PDT by AndyTheBear (Certified smarter than average for my species)
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To: Dalberg-Acton

It is illegal for illegal immigrants to vote. Oops, that wont matter to democRats. Ballots will be mailed to every address without regard to citizenship.

H1B workers can not vote also. And they pay all taxes. Illegals are 99% on welfare and pay no taxes.


6 posted on 07/21/2023 12:04:48 PM PDT by entropy12 (Career politicians are there to build wealth. Trump is there to lose wealth to serve people.)
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To: Red Badger

“The DOJ added that federal law bars the “creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States,..”

Wait, don’t the wave after wave of illegal entrants do just this?


7 posted on 07/21/2023 12:07:40 PM PDT by lastchance (Cognovit Dominus qui sunt eius.)
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To: Red Badger
Too late...the illegals have it figured out.



8 posted on 07/21/2023 12:10:47 PM PDT by Tommy Revolts
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To: Red Badger

Why isn’t Texas suing the federal government for not doing it constitutional duty to protect the States for invasion?


9 posted on 07/21/2023 12:11:40 PM PDT by Revel
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To: Red Badger

Is Joe gonna demand restitution for loss slave sells revenue lost ?


10 posted on 07/21/2023 12:14:49 PM PDT by cuz1961 (USCGR Veteran )
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To: Red Badger

British press would say:

Biden Barristers Bash Border Bouy Barrier


11 posted on 07/21/2023 12:18:25 PM PDT by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: TornadoAlley3

Imagine the Fort Sumter moment—Feds in a firefight with state law enforcement while the Feds were removing the barriers to facilitate an invasion of the United States....


12 posted on 07/21/2023 12:18:36 PM PDT by Tench_Coxe (The woke were surprised by the reaction to the Bud Light fiasco. May there be many more surprises)
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To: Tench_Coxe

Actually it was the Confederates who attacked Union soldiers stationed at Fort Sumter


13 posted on 07/21/2023 12:22:53 PM PDT by RWGinger (LGB)
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To: Red Badger

Why does the Biden Administration and the Democrat Party support the trafficking of HUMAN SLAVES and CHILD SEX SLAVES across our southern border?


14 posted on 07/21/2023 12:24:21 PM PDT by MeganC (There is nothing feminine about feminism. )
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To: Red Badger

I would sue Abbott too: for not doing it sooner.


15 posted on 07/21/2023 12:25:49 PM PDT by NavyShoe
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To: Red Badger

Unless the objective is to increase illegal immigration, there is zero reason to oppose this.


16 posted on 07/21/2023 12:31:23 PM PDT by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
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To: Revel

IIRC-—THEY ARE


17 posted on 07/21/2023 12:32:02 PM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: Red Badger

The lengths the Biden administration will go to keep the flood gates open screams volumes to the tune of treason against the United States and betrayal of the oath and office.

Biden and most of his complicit administration should be arrested, tried in a military tribunal, have the death sentence imposed and summarily carried out within 48 hours of sentencing.


18 posted on 07/21/2023 12:36:41 PM PDT by Bellagio
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To: Red Badger

TENTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION, JOE!!


19 posted on 07/21/2023 12:37:52 PM PDT by Terry L Smith
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To: Red Badger

Tell them to go pee up a rope.

L


20 posted on 07/21/2023 12:46:51 PM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
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