[Texas Tribune] Justice Department threatens Texas with legal action over floating barrier in Rio Grande
[Texas Tribune] Justice Department threatens Texas with legal action over floating barrier in Rio Grande
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the 1,000-foot barrier to be deployed in the river near Eagle Pass earlier this month. The Justice Department gave Texas until Monday to commit to removing it.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/2090869
The U.S. Justice Department has threatened legal action against Gov. Greg Abbott over the 1,000-foot floating barrier that the state deployed in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass earlier this month.
“We write to inform you … that the United States intends to file legal action in relation to the State of Texas’s unlawful construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River,” the Justice Department said in a letter sent to Abbott’s office on Thursday. The department gave the state until 1 p.m. Central on Monday to avoid legal action by responding with a commitment to remove the barrier.
“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,” said the letter, which was signed by Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and Jaime Esparza, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.
And, in a development that should come as zero surprise to anyone who hasn't been in a coma for like a decade, Texas immediately threw this sternly worded letter back in DOJ's face and kept on doing exactly as they have been doing.
Can we just skip to filing the lawsuits the next time Abbot or DeSantis or whichever fascist in this country feels like pulling a campaign stunt with taxpayer dollars?