AUSTIN, Texas — The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over a newly installed floating barrier on the Rio Grande that is the Republican’s latest aggressive tactic to try to stop illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to force Texas to remove a roughly 1,000-foot line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys that the Biden administration says raises humanitarian and environmental concerns. The suit claims that Texas unlawfully installed the barrier without permission between the border cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico.
The buoys are the latest escalation of Texas’ border security operation that also includes razor-wire fencing, arresting migrants on trespassing charges and sending busloads of asylum-seekers to Democratic-led cities in other states.
“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott wrote in response to the lawsuit.
