The Biden Administration Denounces Texas’ Obstruction at the Mexican Border

On Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration denounced the obstruction of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott after the drowning of three migrants at the border with Mexico.

A declared supporter of former President Donald Trump, who made the fight against immigration one of the main topics of his election campaign, Greg Abbott openly defies the authority of the Biden administration, accusing it of “deliberate inaction” in the face of a record influx of migrants at the border in recent months.

Texas and the Biden administration are also engaged in a legal standoff. The Justice Department accuses the governor of preventing the federal Border Patrol from accomplishing its mission by blocking its access to a key sector of the border with Mexico, which Texas authorities dispute.

“Friday evening, a woman and two children drowned near Eagle Pass, and Texas officials blocked U.S. Border Patrol from attempting to provide emergency assistance,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said on Sunday.

“While we continue to gather facts about the circumstances of these tragic deaths, one thing is clear: Gov. Abbott’s political stunts are cruel, inhumane and dangerous. U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws,” he added.

Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar also accused the Texas National Guard, which this week took exclusive control of a key sector near the border town of Eagle Pass on the Rio Grande, of “not grant[ing] access to Border Patrol agents to save the migrants.”

“This is a tragedy, and the State bears responsibility.”

Barbed Wire

Texas National Guard officials said in a statement cited by U.S. media that they searched the Rio Grande for migrants on Friday evening with “lights” and “night-vision goggles” after being informed by the border police of an “emergency situation” but didn’t find anything.

The National Guard then stopped its search after noting that Mexican authorities were “responding to an incident on the Mexico side of the river bank,” according to the same source.

In December, a federal appeals court prohibited the Border Patrol from removing or dismantling the barbed wire installed by Texas near Eagle Pass to carry out its missions unless justified by a medical emergency.

The Department of Justice appealed to the Supreme Court in early January to have this decision overturned.

But this week, the Texas National Guard began installing new barriers that effectively prohibit Border Patrol agents from accessing the border or approaching the river along a 2.5-mile section, Biden administration Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar confirmed Friday.

In a written response to the Supreme Court on Saturday, Texas acknowledged that it took control of a city park in Eagle Pass “for law-enforcement and disaster relief purposes.”

But Texas assured [the court] that it was “unaware of federal law enforcement’s current objections and was working promptly to address them.”