Wednesday night, the Department of Justice requested that a federal judge allow Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) to take down a floating barrier at the southern border that is intended to stop migrants from passing the Rio Grande River.
The DOJ claimed in a court statement that the network of buoys across the river has “triggered severe and continuing damage to the United States’ diplomatic relations with Mexico,” and requested that the barrier and staying equipment be taken down within ten days.
The proposed court order stated that the Mexican government has complained to the United States multiple times throughout the end of June, such as at the greatest diplomatic levels, about Texas’s deployment of the Floating Barrier. According to the DOJ, Mexican authorities claimed that Mexico “might have to reconsider and restrict its relationship with the United States moving forward.”
Against Abbott and the state, the DOJ issued a complaint on Monday, claiming that the floating barrier is illegal under federal environmental law and puts at risk people’s safety.