Texas Governor Greg Abbott is putting up a buoy barrier wall across the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass. It is a drastic action but it is something he feels compelled to do, given the effects on Texas from the Biden border crisis. He is trying to stop the constant flow of illegal immigrants crossing the border between Mexico and Texas.
The buoys arrived along the shore of the Rio Grande River on Friday. An Eagle Pass resident filed suit to stop the buoys from ever getting into the water. Jessie F. Fuentes, a kayaking outfitter, filed the lawsuit in the very progressive Travis County (Austin). Fuentes claims in the lawsuit that the governor does not have the legal authority to put the buoys in the water. It will impede his business, Epi’s Canoe and Kayak Team. His business provides boat rentals and guided tours of the river.
“EPI will be unable to conduct tours and canoe and kayak sessions in Eagle Pass because of the installation of the buoys,” the Fuentes suit states.
Laredo attorney Carlos E. Flores, who is representing Fuentes, said Abbott doesn’t have the power to disrupt the river.
“The Governor proclaims to support law and order, yet he initiated Operation Lone Star without legal authority and seeks to install buoys to score political points without a legitimate public policy objective,” Flores said.
Doesn’t the flow of illegal immigrants going across the Rio Grande River impede his business? Do tourists want to kayak around groups of illegal immigrants making the trip to the Texas shoreline?
The buoys have arrived and the installation of the marine barrier on the Rio Grande begins today. #OperationLoneStar pic.twitter.com/43VEM1tfLu
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) July 7, 2023
The lawsuit was filed hours after the trucks arrived with the buoys.
Governor Abbott responded in his own way.
“Abbott sued over plan to deploy buoys in the Rio Grande.”
We will see you in court.
And don’t think the Travis Co. Court will be the end of it.
This is going to the Supreme Court.
Texas has a constitutional right to secure our border. https://t.co/1qg7tsrfI6
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 8, 2023
Travis County (Austin) is one of the most liberal of Texas counties and the home to the state capitol. Leftists run the place.
Governor Abbott has been trying to secure the southern border since Joe Biden took office as president. On day one, Biden ended deportations, and he put illegal immigration down at the bottom of his to-do list. Biden leaves border state governors to fend for themselves. The Texas Legislature has set aside billions of taxpayer money to secure the border. The buoy barrier is the latest action taken by Abbott. The area around Eagle Pass is one of the most crossed areas of the river.
The state has already set miles of razor wire on shore throughout the area and increased the number of Texas Department of Public Safety and National Guard troops to patrol the area as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. The Texas Legislature recently approved $5 billion of funding for the border security program. DPS Director Steven McCraw said the first barrier being deployed will cost less than $1 million and can be moved to other areas of the river as needed.
“What these buoys are going to allow us to do is to prevent people from even getting to the border,” Abbott said when he announced the new strategy last month.
Abbott does not shy away from lawsuits. During the Obama administration, he was Texas Attorney General. One of his favorite lines to say when he spoke to audiences was that every day he woke up and filed another lawsuit against the Obama administration. He’s been on both sides and he understands the Constitution. I have no doubt that he will take it all the way to the Supreme Court. He should. Joe Biden’s first responsibility as president is to protect the homeland. Without borders, we have no country. The Biden border crisis shows his dereliction of duty.
Read the full article here