Justice Department Sues Texas Over Border Buoy Barrier

The Justice Department on Monday followed through with its threat to sue Texas Gov. Greg Abbott if he didn’t remove a floating buoy barrier the state had installed on the Rio Grande in an effort to stop migrants from entering the U.S.

In its complaint filed in the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Department of Justice said the Republican governor had violated the Rivers and Harbors Act when it strung together the buoys in the river along the U.S.-Mexico border without federal authorization.

“This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta in a statement. “Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy.”

In early July, Texas officials started to build what was expected to be a 1,000-foot-long barrier made up of orange buoys chained together along the Rio Grande. The action was part of Operation Lone Star, an effort by Abbott to use state police and resources to address unauthorized immigration. Texas had previously installed floating barriers on the river and miles of razor wire on the banks of the Rio Grande as part of the operation.

The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about the complaint on the phone and asked that any questions be emailed to its press office.

In a letter sent to the White House before the lawsuit was filed, Abbott defended his actions and said the Biden administration had left him no choice but to deploy the buoys to stop unauthorized immigration.

“The fact is, if you would just enforce the immigration laws Congress already has on the books, America would not be suffering from your record-breaking level of illegal immigration,” Abbott’s letter said.

White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan in a statement defended the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and said unlawful border crossings were at the lowest levels in over two years. 

“Gov. Abbott’s dangerous and unlawful actions are undermining that effective plan, making it hard for the men and women of Border Patrol to do their jobs of securing the border, and putting migrants and border agents in danger,” Hasan said.

Hasan said that if Abbott wanted to improve border security he would urge Republicans in Congress to increase funding for the Department of Homeland Security.  

Abbott said that the buoys didn’t violate the Rivers and Harbors Act because the statute didn’t describe any action taken by Texas. Abbott told President Biden, “Texas will see you in court.”

The Justice Department said in its complaint that it is trying to stop the building of structures and obstruction in navigable waters of the U.S. Federal prosecutors are also asking that Texas, at their own expense, remove all structures and obstructions, including the buoys, in the river.

Texas placed its floating barrier in the Rio Grande about 2 miles south of the Camino Real International Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, and is made up of buoys 4 and 6 feet in diameter, according to the complaint.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021 amid an increase in border crossings, Texas has spent billions of dollars on the program. Under the operation, the governor has sent thousands of state troopers and Texas National Guardsman to the border. 

As part of the operation, overseen by the Texas Department of Public Safety and Texas Military Department, authorities have charged thousands of migrants with misdemeanor trespassing and other state charges and built its own border wall of shipping containers along the banks of the Rio Grande.

Earlier this month, a state trooper raised concerns about Operation Lone Star in an email to his superiors, saying troopers and Guard members on the operation were instructed to push a nursing mother back into the river, to deny water to migrants even in extreme heat and to block a 4-year-old who was trying to cross coils of razor wire, from reaching shore.

The email, earlier reported by the Houston Chronicle, detailed instances of injury that included a pregnant woman entangled in the wire having a miscarriage and numerous severe lacerations. 

“The wire and barrels in the river needs to be taken out as this is nothing but an inhumane trap in high water and low visibility,” the state trooper said in his July 3 email referring to barrels authorities had put up before the buoys.

Write to Adolfo Flores at [email protected]