- The Department of Justice has warned Texas that its border policies violate federal law.
- Texas' actions "violate federal law" and "present serious risks to public safety," it said.
The Biden administration is warning Texas that it's breaking federal law by placing a floating barrier in the Rio Grande, the border river that separates Mexico and Texas.
In a letter obtained by ABC News, the US Department of Justice said the barriers violate the Rivers and Harbors Act, a federal law that grants Congress the exclusive authority to authorize "any obstruction" in navigable waters.
"This floating barrier poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns," the department said. "Thus, we intend to seek appropriate legal remedies, which may include seeking injunctive relief requiring the removal of obstructions or other structures in the Rio Grande River."
The missive comes after a number of reports about the treatment of migrants in Texas have sparked bipartisan condemnation. In a July email, the Houston Chronic reported, a Texas state trooper complained of "inhumane" border enforcement, describing how agents were told to deny water to migrants and detailing one episode where a pregnant woman miscarried after getting stuck in barbed wire that has been placed along strings of buoys in the Rio Grande.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, a Republican, responded to the letter in a post on Twitter, asserting that Texas "has the sovereign authority to defend our border, under the US Constitution and the Texas Constitution."
Abbot has spent at least $4.5 billion on immigration enforcement with "Operation Lone Star," which has seen state law enforcement deployed to the border and asylum-seekers bussed across the country.
He announced a surge in resources after the expiration of Title 42, which he described as President Joe Biden "laying down the welcome mat to people across the entire world." The Trump-era public health order had allowed federal authorities to quickly remove people who crossed the border illegally, without processing asylum claims, but critics said it broke international law — which requires countries to consider requests for asylum — and also encouraged repeat attempts to enter the United States, as those removals did not carry the same legal weight as a formal deportation.
Since the order was rescinded in May, the number of people crossing the border illegally has dropped to the lowest rate in more than two years.
Courts uphold federal supremacy on immigration
Historically, courts have rejected state efforts to regulate immigration, ruling that such authority lies exclusively with the federal government. And Texas ceded absolute sovereignty over its borders when it ceased being an independent republic in 1845.
In June, the Supreme Court, by an 8-1 margin, rejected an argument from Republican states that the president should be compelled to prioritize the deportation of anyone in the United States without documentation. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said the Biden administration, like its predecessors, "lacks the resources to arrest and prosecute every violator of every law," and has the right to focus its deportation efforts on those convicted of other crimes.
The Constitution "does not give states the authority to carry out immigration enforcement at the border," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director at the American Immigration Council, argued in a post on Twitter. "Period."
In its letter, the Department of Justice hinted that it could take further action based on such constitutional arguments.
Texas' 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 department said.
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com