The federal government of USA filed a lawsuit on Monday against the state of Texas before the refusal of his governor, the republican greg abbottto withdraw the buoy barrier installed in the Rio Grande, on the border with Mexico, to try to prevent immigrants from crossing.
The Department of Justice requested a court order that prohibits Texas from installing additional barriers on the river and forces state authorities to remove those already installed, with the costs that may entail, CNN television reported.
The lawsuit was filed in the First District Court for the Western District of Texas alleging “breach of the Law on Improper Use of Rivers and Ports by building a structure on a navigable river without permission from the Army Corps of Engineers.”
He added that the buoy barrier “represents an unauthorized obstruction of the navigability of United States waters.”
“We allege that Texas has violated federal legislation by installing a barrier on the Rio Grande (Rio Grande) without the necessary federal authorization,” attorney Vanita Gupta explained in an official statement, according to the Europa Press news agency.
“The floating barrier poses a threat to navigation and public safety and humanitarian implications; furthermore, its presence provoked a diplomatic protest from Mexico and could harm US foreign policy,” he said.
Abbott’s challenge to the White House
The Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to remove the barrier. However, Abbot refused to comply with the ultimatum, arguing an “invasion” of immigrants.
Abbott, one of the most reticent governors to the reception of immigrants in the United States, challenged hours before the ruling the order issued by the Department of Justice of the Government of President Joe Biden, whom he harshly criticized again.
“Texas will use its constitutional authority to the full to address the crisis you have caused. Texas will handle this in court, Mr. President,” Abbott sentenced in a letter sent to the Democratic president.
The governor cited several court rulings and accused Biden of violating Article 4 of the United States Constitution, which indicates that the federal government “must protect them (the states) against invasion.”
“All this is happening because you have breached your constitutional obligation to defend the states from an invasion by sincerely applying federal law,” insisted Abbott, who recalled the “record levels of illegal immigration.”
Abbott chided Biden that “the open border policy encourages migrants to risk their lives crossing the water illegally rather than doing so safely and legally.” “No one drowns on a bridge,” he emphasized.
Abbott recalled at the same time that the UN designated the land border between the United States and Mexico as “the deadliest” in the world, with 728 deaths in 2021.
And he urged Biden to help him “to save Texans and all Americans from deadly drugs like fentanyl, the violence of drug cartels, and the horrors of human trafficking.”
Immigration crisis in the US
The crisis due to the massive arrival of migrants to the US in recent years has had an impact on states other than the southern ones, which are on the front line because they have a border with Mexico.
In recent months, Republican-led states like Texas have moved migrants to Democratic-run states to protest Biden’s immigration policies.
Last Friday, the mayor of New York, Eric Adamsensured that the city It “has no more space” for migrants and that therefore it would implement a leaflet distribution on the US border with Mexico to encourage them to go to other areas of the country.
More than 90,000 immigrants, mostly from Central and South America, have arrived in New York since April of last year, a situation that has led to a significant increase in demand for services to receive them.
“Our cup is full. We don’t have any more space in the city,” said Adams, who is a Democrat.
Source: Ambito
