Texas Gov. Greg Abbott remains defiant in his efforts to secure the southern border, deploying floating barriers in the Rio Grande River despite threat of legal action by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in an effort to take them down.
“Texas deployed marine barriers on the Rio Grande to ramp up our efforts to deter illegal border crossings,” Abbot wrote on X, former Twitter, on July 25. “Texas will take the Biden administration all the way to the Supreme Court to defend our sovereign authority to respond to the border crisis."
Despite DOJ’s threats of civil litigation, Abbott challenged president Joe Biden in a letter, writing “Texas will see you in court, Mr. President."
Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted on July 25, 2023, that Texas intends to take the White House all the way to the high court.
| Gov. Greg Abbott/Twitter/GovAbbott
The federal government went ahead with its suit, CBS News reported, which claims that Texas broke a federal navigable waters law with the barriers, and interfered with federal law enforcement in apprehending migrants.
In a release from Abbott's office, he said the Constitution allows the state to exercise sovereign authority in protecting the border with Mexico.
“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 wrote to Biden on July 24. “In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused.”
Illegal immigration has been a source of anger and frustration for Abbott and Republicans, according to an Austin Journal report. The White House’s alleged inactive response to the crisis prompted Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take matters into their own hands, the Journal reported.
Texas' floating barriers have ignited renewed criticism of the state's broader border initiative, known as Operation Lone Star. Abbott and DeSantis have also bused thousands of migrants to large Democrat-led cities, directed state troopers to arrest migrants on state trespassing charges and deployed members of the Texas National Guard to repel migrants through razor wire and other means, according to CBS News.