Texas sued by Biden admin over building water barriers to block migrants crossing border

The Joe Biden administration on Monday filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas over deploying water barriers in the Rio Grande aimed to block migrants from crossing into the United States from Mexico.

In the lawsuit, the Department of Justice is asking the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Texas to force the state to remove the existing marine barriers and stop building more in the border river.

The department alleged that Texas and its Republican Governor Greg Abbott violated the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act by building a structure in U.S. water without permission from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The marine barriers "constitute an unauthorized obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States," according to the lawsuit.

"We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.

"This floating barrier poses threats to navigation and public safety and presents humanitarian concerns. Additionally, the presence of the floating barrier has prompted diplomatic protests by Mexico and risks damaging U.S. foreign policy," Gupta continued.

Abbott said earlier on Monday that he would not order the removal of the floating barriers as required by the Justice Department.