Defying a request from the Department of Justice, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told President Joe Biden on Monday that he will not be ordering the removal of floating barriers from the Rio Grande River.
"To end the risk that migrants will be harmed crossing the border illegally, you must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry," Abbott wrote in a letter to Biden after the Justice Department requested last week that he remove the barriers. "In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused."
"Texas will see you in court, Mr. President," he added.
On Thursday, the DOJ said it plans to file a lawsuit against Texas for the placement of the floating barriers in the Rio Grande, according to a letter obtained by CNN and sources familiar with the matter who spoke to the outlet.
According to the letter sent to Abbott, the Justice Department set a deadline of 2 p.m. ET on Monday for Texas to commit to removing the floating barriers before legal action would be taken.
Addressing Biden, the Republican governor said he had "asserted Texas' sovereign interest" in protecting the state's borders with the marine barriers in his "role as the commander-in-chief of our State's militia under Article IV, § 7 of the Texas Constitution."
In response, the White House decried Abbott's actions as "dangerous and unlawful."
"Gov. Abbott's dangerous and unlawful actions are undermining that effective plan and making it hard for the men and women of Border Patrol to do their jobs of securing the border," White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan told CNN. "The governor's actions are cruel and putting both migrants and border agents in danger.
"If Gov. Abbott truly wanted to drive toward real solutions, he'd be asking his Republican colleagues in Congress, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, why they voted against President Biden's request for record funding for the Department of Homeland Security and why they're blocking comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures to finally fix our broken immigration system," he said.
The DOJ's threat of legal action is based on a clause in the Rivers and Harbors Act that "prohibits the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States, and further prohibits building any structure in such waters without authorization from the United States Army Corps of Engineers."
Texas is already facing a lawsuit brought by the owner of a Texas canoe and kayaking company. That suit was filed the same day that Texas began deploying buoys for the floating barrier. It lists the state of Texas and Abbott, as well as the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety, according to CNN.
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