The Biden administration sues Texas for migrant deterrent floating border barriers.

The Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Texas on Monday to get the state to take down the floating barricades it has placed in the middle of the Rio Grande. According to federal authorities, the buoys put migrants and Border Patrol personnel in danger.

Texas officials were obligated to request and acquire permission from the federal government before building the barriers, which were placed early this month, according to the Justice Department's nine-page lawsuit, which was filed in the federal district court in Austin. The government said the river buoys break a long-standing federal statute regulating buildings in navigable rivers. The lawsuit requested that the court order Texas to remove the current river buoys and enjoin the state from erecting further obstacles of this nature in the future.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta stated: "We allege that Texas violated federal law by erecting a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization." "This floating barrier creates safety risks for the general public, navigation, and humanitarian issues. Additionally, Mexico has protested the deployment of the floating barrier diplomatically, and it might harm American foreign policy.

Last week, the Biden administration suggested that Texas might be able to avoid a lawsuit by agreeing to remove the buoys. However, on Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican and outspoken opponent of the administration, defended the legitimacy of his state's actions and expressed enthusiasm for a legal dispute, saying, "See you in court, Mr President." 

The lawsuit filed on Monday represents an intensification of a political standoff between the administration and Abbott over how the federal government has handled significant irregular border crossings since President Biden took office in 2021.

Operation Lone Star

The floating barriers are a component of Operation Lone Star, a broader, multibillion-dollar project Abbott ordered that has sparked ethical and legal questions about how refugees would be treated. According to Abbott and other state officials, the program is essential to reducing unauthorized border crossings since the Biden administration has not done enough to discourage migration to the United States.

As part of Abbott's operation, Texas officials and members of the National Guard have been ordered to install razor wire on the Rio Grande's riverbanks to prevent migrants from entering the country and to detain adult migrants on state trespassing charges. Additionally, the state has sent more than 27,000 migrants to protest "sanctuary city" laws restricting local cooperation with federal deportation authorities in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

While Abbott has blamed his state's efforts for the high numbers of migrants apprehended over the previous two years, illegal border crossings have significantly decreased. 

According to official data, the number of migrants detained by Border Patrol after crossing the southern border illegally dropped to just under 100,000 in June, a dramatic decrease from May and the lowest number since Mr Biden's administration began. The Biden administration tightened asylum criteria for those who enter the country illegally and increased attempts to guide migrants to programs that enable them to enter the U.S. legitimately, which led to a decline in illegal crossings.

Since it started in March 2021, Operation Lone Star has drawn condemnation from migrant rights activists and the Biden administration. However, the program recently came under internal review when a Texas state trooper and medic voiced worries about state activities putting migrants in danger.

The physician said stories of pregnant women and migrant children being harmed by the razor wire put up by state officials. Moreover, he expressed worry that the river barriers would force migrants to cross the Rio Grande in riskier river areas where they would drown. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety has refuted the medic's claims that state authorities ordered troopers to physically drive migrants back into the Rio Grande and deprive them of water. Instead, the department has announced an internal inquiry into the medic's claims.