Biden administration warns it will take action if Texas does not stop blocking federal agents from U.S. border area

The Biden administration on Sunday demanded that Texas officers cease stopping federal Border Patrol brokers from getting into a piece of the U.S. southern border commandeered by state Nationwide Guard troopers final week, calling the actions “clearly unconstitutional,” in accordance with a letter obtained by CBS Information.

If the Texas Nationwide Guard doesn’t heed the Biden administration’s demand and stop its efforts to dam Border Patrol’s entry to a public park within the border city of Eagle Go, the Division of Homeland Safety will refer the matter to the Justice Division and discover different choices, Jonathan Meyer, the highest lawyer at DHS, warned in his letter to Texas Lawyer Common Ken Paxton.

Meyer stated Texas’s abrupt transfer final week to grab management of Eagle Go’ Shelby Park, an space the place Border Patrol used to examine and maintain migrants, had “impeded” federal operations to apprehend migrants and rescue those that could also be in misery. He cited the drownings of three migrants, a lady and two kids, close to Shelby Park on Friday.

The White Home, DHS and Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar have stated Texas Nationwide Guard troopers blocked Border Patrol brokers from trying to render help to the migrants on Friday. On Sunday, the Texas Navy Division, which controls the state Nationwide Guard, disputed the claims, saying two of the migrants had already drowned when Border Patrol requested entry to Shelby Park to reply to the incident. The division has not denied barring Border Patrol from getting into the park. 

“Texas’s failure to offer entry to the border persists even in cases of imminent hazard to life and security,” Meyer stated in his letter to Paxton.

DHS gave Texas till the tip of the day on Wednesday to relent.

“If in case you have not confirmed by the tip of day on January 17, 2024, that Texas will stop and desist its efforts to dam Border Patrol’s entry in and across the Shelby Park space and take away all boundaries to entry to the U.S.-Mexico border, we are going to refer the matter to the Division of Justice for applicable motion and think about all different choices obtainable to revive Border Patrol’s entry to the border,” Meyer wrote.

CBS Information has reached out to the Texas Lawyer Common’s workplace for remark.

Texas has stated its transfer to grab management of Shelby Park and ban federal brokers from the world via armed troopers, fencing and razor wire is designed to discourage illegal crossings by migrants. It is the newest flashpoint in a yearslong political and authorized feud over U.S. border coverage between Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and President Biden, a Democrat.

Over the previous three years, Abbott has taken unprecedented and controversial steps in response to what he has deemed to be a lackluster effort by Mr. Biden to include file ranges of migrant crossings. Underneath his course, Texas has bused tens of 1000’s of migrants to Democratic-led cities, arrested 1000’s of migrant adults on trespassing fees and fortified the Rio Grande with razor wire and floating boundaries.

However Texas’ effort to bodily block federal brokers from processing migrants in a public park that covers roughly 2.5 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border is arguably the state’s most drastic motion but. 

In his letter on Sunday, Meyer famous the federal authorities is the one tasked with regulating immigration, together with the inspection, processing and arrest of migrants who enter the U.S. with out permission. Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park is obstructing federal officers from finishing up these obligations, he stated. 

“State legislation can’t be utilized to restrain federal brokers from finishing up these federally licensed actions,” Meyer added.

Meyer additionally famous that among the areas Texas had commandeered sit on federal land. He stated a 2015 settlement between town of Eagle Go, which oversees Shelby Park, and Border Patrol ensures federal officers entry to the park’s gates. Among the boundaries utilized by Texas to seal off the park are owned by the federal authorities, Meyer added.

Final week, the Justice Division alerted the Supreme Court docket of Texas’ actions in Eagle Go as a part of a case over a decrease court docket ruling that barred Border Patrol from eradicating the razor wire the state has positioned alongside some sections of the U.S. southern border. The Justice Division is asking the excessive court docket to droop that ruling, saying it prevents Border Patrol from processing and rescuing migrants already on U.S. soil.

Extra from CBS Information