Texas Gov. Abbott defiant at Justice Department threat to remove razor wire at border

WASHINGTON – Gov. Greg Abbott hit back with defiance on Friday after the Justice Department warned that Texas’ use of razor wire and floating barriers to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande is illegal, insisting the state is within its rights and vowing to defend its costly efforts.

“Texas has the sovereign authority to defend our border, under the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution,” he declared on Twitter. “We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texans and Americans – and the migrants risking their lives. We will see you in court, Mr. President.”

Federal authorities sent Abbott a letter Thursday informing him they may seek a court order “requiring the removal of obstructions or other structures in the Rio Grande River.”

Instances of a pregnant woman, children and other migrants being sliced or entangled in the 60 miles of concertina wire installed by Texas also prompted congressional Democrats to press Biden on Friday to halt the state’s border security efforts. They expressing “profound alarm” at the injuries and other reports of mistreatment.

A Department of Public Safety trooper recently raised an alarm about migrants being pushed back into the river and denied water despite scorching heat. DPS officials deny that any policy exists to withhold water.

“We urge you to assert your authority over federal immigration policy and foreign relations and investigate and pursue legal action, as appropriate, related to stop Governor (Greg) Abbott’s dangerous and cruel actions,” says the letter to Biden, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and signed by nearly 90 other Democrats in the U.S. House, including all 13 Texans.

“As Governor Abbott continues to escalate his efforts on the border, we urge you to … stop this horrific abuse of power,” they wrote.

Abbott, in a series of posts on social media, asserted that he’d put Biden on notice that Texas has the legal authority to step in if the federal government does not tighten the border enough. He cited a letter he hand delivered.

But the letter Abbott gave Biden on Jan. 8 on his first border visit as president includes no such assertion. It does provide a litany of demands for federal action, asserts that Biden had neglecting the border, and accuses him of coming to El Paso for a “sanitized” photo opportunity.

The Dallas Morning News has also sought comment from the state attorney general’s office, Army Corps of Engineers, White House, and the federal departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Abbott launched Operation Lone Star two years ago, sending National Guard and state troopers to the border when Biden took office, halted construction of the border wall promoted by predecessor Donald Trump, and began to dismantle many of Trump’s harsh immigration policies.

Democrats asserted in their letter that the state’s actions are “putting asylum-seekers at serious risk of injury and death, interfering with federal immigration enforcement, infringing on private property rights, and violating U.S. treaty commitments with Mexico.”

Mexico’s president denounced the “inhumane” treatment of migrants by Texas this week.

Last month, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena complained that the razor wire and floating buoys violate treaties signed in 1944 and 1970 that govern the shared waters of the U.S. and Mexico.

State Department officials say Texas ignored permitting requirements.

Nor did the state seek permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which federal authorities say was also required by law.

The White House has long bristled at the idea that federal enforcement is too lax, let alone that there’s a security vacuum that justifies the Texas operation.

As reports of mistreatment at the border surfaced this week, Biden aides condemned the state’s measures as “inhumane” but declined to say what actions, if any, the administration might take.

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was assessing the legality of Operation Lone Star, with a spokeswoman citing “troubling reports” of injuries and mistreatment.

On Friday, the Houston Chronicle, which first reported on the state trooper’s email raising alarms about treatment of migrants at the border, reported that the Justice Department sent Abbott a letter on Thursday declaring the barriers illegal.

“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the letter says, according to the Chronicle.

The Texas Legislature recently set aside $5.3 billion for Operation Lone Star over the next two years, up from $4.6 billion from the previous cycle.

A memo obtained by the Dallas Morning News shows a Customs and Border Patrol official in the Eagle Pass sector warning that the barriers block visibility and impede federal agents from catching or helping migrants at the Rio Grande.

In their letter to Biden, the congressional Democrats assert that “Operation Lone Star’s programs and policies, specifically the recent erection of razor wire or buoy walls, pose a huge danger to migrants and impedes the ability of our border patrol offices to safely and humanely treat migrants as well as to comply with relevant federal and international laws.”

“We ask that you immediately intervene to stop Governor Greg Abbott’s actions and, as appropriate, pursue legal action given the serious and credible allegations of harm to migrants, interference in the federal enforcement of immigration laws, and violations of treaty commitments with Mexico,” the letter says.

On Wednesday, a dozen Democratic members of the Texas Senate wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding an investigation into “disturbing allegations of practices taking place along the Texas-Mexico border.”

They cited reports of a 19-year-old woman caught in the razor wire while experiencing a miscarriage; Texas National Guard soldiers pushing an exhausted 4-year-old girl back into the river; migrants drowning as they tried to get around the buoys, and others being cut by razor wire wrapped around buoys.

“If true, these practices are immoral and an unconscionable deprivation of basic human rights. They also pose serious violations of international laws and treaties as well as federal and state laws,” the state senators wrote.

The Homeland Security Department has not responded or commented publicly on the reports.