Migrants seeking asylum rest on an island while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river into the United States on July 18, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images/TNS)
WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — Texas Republicans in Congress, defending the state’s new Rio Grande barricade, accused the Biden administration Thursday of harassing Gov. Greg Abbott for doing a job the federal government has shirked.
“Governor Abbott, stay the course. Stand your ground,” said House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington of Lubbock. “You’re doing what’s right. You’re doing what’s necessary... as a sovereign state leader.”
The Justice Department took Texas to court Monday, asking a judge to order removal of the wrecking ball-size buoys strung together and installed in the last three weeks near Eagle Pass.
“It’s one thing that the federal government has refused to secure the border and Texas has had to spend so much money. It’s another thing when they actually get in our way and tell us we have to stop securing our border,” said Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell. “I want to thank the governor for his efforts. We all stand behind him.”
The Legislature recently committed another $5.3 billion over two years to Operation Lone Star, the border security initiative Abbott launched soon after President Joe Biden took office. Texas has already spent $4.6 billion, deploying thousands of National Guard and Department of Public Safety troopers.
Talk of states’ rights infused a 50-minute news conference Arrington led to show support for Abbott among Texas Republicans in Congress.
The lawmakers blistered Biden for what they see as an open border policy.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, demanded repayment for the billions Texas has spent on border security.
And he threatened to cut off all funds for the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as long as Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas remains on the job.
“We need to see Texas paid back….Why would we fund a federal government that is at war with the people of Texas and endangering our people?” Roy said. “I stand behind Governor Abbott being as aggressive as he needs to be to defend the people of Texas. Period. Full stop. He has my full support.”
Rep. Brian Babin, from Woodville in East Texas, called the floating barrier “absolutely necessary” to curb fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking.
“The inhumanity we see is not those floating barrels. It is the men, women and children that are trafficked across that border,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney.
Self called for a robust military presence at the border – not just National Guard to supplement the Border Patrol’s efforts but active duty uniformed personnel directly enforcing federal immigration law and guarding the border.
“We have to get past the concept of posse comitatus,” Self said, referring to the 1878 law that forbids the use of the military to enforce domestic policy. “I know that for many people that’s a bridge too far.”
Mexico has denounced the river barrier as a violation of treaties that control the shared waterway. Militarization of the border would certainly be unwelcome.
Mexican and U.S. officials say the buoys pose a hazard to boats and could lead to migrant drownings, threatening humanitarian tragedy and a diplomatic crisis.
Abbott’s tactics also include 60 miles of razor wire. Migrants have been entangled and bloodied. The Biden administration and a host of Democrats have denounced these measures as “inhumane.”
The legal tussle hinges on a 19th Century law that forbids unauthorized construction in a navigable waterway. Texas did not seek permission from the State Department or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before sinking anchors and installing the buoys.
Arrington called it “petty and political legal maneuvers to harass the governor of Texas, and to impede his efforts to protect our citizens.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, defended Abbott on Wednesday, saying he was only coping with a “vacuum” left by Biden’s own inaction.
“If the president is unhappy with the actions Texas has taken, there is a clear solution: Do your job,” he said on the Senate floor. “Until then, Governor Abbott has every right to use the powers available to him to keep our state safe.”
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