The Justice Department plans to take legal action against Texas over the floating border barrier

CNN
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The Justice Department told Texas on Thursday it plans to file legal action against placing floating barriers in the Rio Grande as part of state action along the Texas-Mexico border, according to sources familiar with the matter and a letter obtained by CNN.

The Justice Department sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday, giving the state time to respond, according to the letter.

“The actions of the State of Texas 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 letter stated. Corps of Engineers (“Corps”).”

That differs from the current assessment of migrant mistreatment, which the Justice Department described as “complicated reports.”

“Texas has the sovereign authority to protect our border under the US Constitution and the Texas Constitution,” Abbott said on Twitter. “We have sent several letters to the Biden administration detailing our authority, including a letter I provided to President Biden earlier this year.”

CNN reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety, but did not receive a response.

In the past, the Judiciary has been litigating on border related issues. Last year, the Justice Department sued Arizona for placing shipping containers on the US southern border — a move that was taken by then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey as an affront to Biden’s immigration policies. Arizona eventually agreed to remove the containers.

More than 80 Democratic US lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden on Friday asking him to investigate Abbott’s “dangerous and brutal actions” at the southern border after a Texas state trooper blew the whistle on the inhumane treatment of migrants.

“We are writing our deepest alarm about border policies instituted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that put asylum seekers at risk of injury and death, interfere with federal immigration enforcement, violate private property rights and violate the U.S. Treaty with Mexico,” the letter reads.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s inspector general has received several additional complaints from DPS personnel at the border about the treatment of immigrants trying to enter the United States, three sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. In the complaints, Texas troops were told to push the settlers into the Rio Grande and ordered not to give them water.

In a joint statement Tuesday with other top Texas officials, including Department of Public Safety Director Steve McGraw, Abbott’s office said no orders or directives had been issued under Operation Lone Star that would “compromise the lives of those trying to cross the border illegally.”

Led by Rep. Joaquin Castro, the initiative includes Rep. This includes traditional conservative Democrats like Henry Cuellar.

The letter’s authors highlight Abbott’s border initiative, known as “Operation Lone Star,” and describe Abbott’s actions as “intensified in recent months” along the Rio Grande, a “razor-sharp wire” that “creates death traps for migrants and violates the U.S. treaty with Mexico.”

“The placement of razor wire and inflatable floats in the Rio Grande River is illegal and may violate several bilateral agreements between the United States and Mexico, including the Boundary Agreement of 1970 and the Mexican Water Treaty of 1944,” the letter states. “A similar attempt by Governor Ducey to create a temporary border in Arizona was abandoned earlier this year after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona.”

The letter says Abbott’s border initiative policies “pose a grave danger to immigrants” and urges Biden to take action and “stop this appalling abuse of power.”

Biden administration officials There has been growing concern in recent months about Abbott’s actions along the Texas-Mexico border.

“It makes our job harder,” a Homeland Security official told CNN.

“Governor Abbott’s dangerous and illegal actions undermine our effective border enforcement program and make it harder for CBP to secure the border,” White House spokesman Abdullah Hassan said Friday. “The governor’s actions are brutal and put both immigrants and border agents at risk.”

Wednesday in a significant development That was first reported by CNNThe Justice Department said it was assessing the situation along the Texas-Mexico border — marking an expansion of an administration that has stalled for months without taking any action against Texas.

“The Department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are working with DHS and other relevant agencies to assess the situation,” DOJ spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa told CNN on Wednesday.

An administration official said Abbott’s actions “prevented Border Patrol agents from accessing the river, patrolling the area, and arresting people trying to enter the country illegally,” and agents had to cut multiple layers of concertina wire to respond to medical emergencies.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.