Texas Tells Biden It Will Defy Request To Remove Floating Barriers At Border - Governor

Texas has informed President Joe Biden that it will not comply with a Justice Department request to remove floating marine barriers that it deployed on the Rio Grande as part of a larger attempt to grapple with illegal immigration, Governor Greg Abbott said on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th July, 2023) Texas has informed President Joe Biden that it will not comply with a Justice Department request to remove floating marine barriers that it deployed on the Rio Grande as part of a larger attempt to grapple with illegal immigration, Governor Greg Abbott said on Monday.

"President Biden's Dept. of Justice threatened to sue Texas over the marine barriers we deployed on the Rio Grande. Mr. President, Texas will see you in court," Abbott said via Twitter on Monday along with a letter from the governor's office addressed to Biden.

The Federal government had given Abbott until 2 p.m. on Monday to remove the barriers, which the Biden administration says are illegal. However, Abbott maintains that Texas reserves the right under both the state and US constitutions to defend its border.

In the letter to Biden, Abbott also maintained that the floating barriers do not violate Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors act, which guards against the creation of any water obstruction that prevents navigability and is not approved by Congress or the US Army Corps of Engineers.

"I have asserted Texas's sovereign interest in protecting (her) borders. I have done so in my role as the commander-in-chief of our State's militia under Article IV, � 7 of the Texas Constitution," wrote Abbott, who blames the humanitarian crisis on the southern border on Biden.

About 1.8 million migrants have been encountered on the US southern border since October.