Texas Governor Defies DOJ Doubling Down On Rio Grande Floating Barriers

OAN’s Shawntel Smith-Hill  
12:59 PM – Monday, July 24, 2023

On Sunday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took to Twitter to inform the Biden administration that Texas refuses to comply with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) amid plans to file a lawsuit against the state for a floating border barricade in the Rio Grande.

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“Texas Has Seized More Than 422 Million Lethal Doses of Fentanyl Since 2021. More than enough to kill all Americans,” the Texas governor wrote. “We have also made 394,200 illegal-immigrant apprehensions and 31,300 criminal arrests. All because Biden is not doing his job.”

Despite a letter from the DOJ last Thursday informing Abbott (R-Texas) of its plan to sue Texas for its deployment of floating barricades at the southern border, Abbott reaffirmed his position in a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday.

“To end the risk that migrants will be harmed crossing the border illegally, you must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry,” Abbott said in the letter. “In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused. Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.”

President Biden’s Dept. of Justice threatened to sue Texas over the marine barriers we deployed on the Rio Grande.

Mr. President, Texas will see you in court.

Texas will fully utilize our sovereign authority to deal with the humanitarian crisis Biden created at our border. pic.twitter.com/hlnHahwDi8

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 24, 2023

The feud between the Biden administration and Abbott has been heightened by concerns that the former has endangered the lives and safety of migrants and agents.

White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan responded to Abbott, saying “Governor Abbott’s dangerous and unlawful actions are undermining that effective plan and making it hard for the men and women of Border Patrol to do their jobs of securing the border. The governor’s actions are cruel and putting both migrants and border agents in danger.”

The DOJ has been steadfast in its threat of legal action against the state, citing a clause in federal law that “prohibits 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.”

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