The US government has taken legal action against the state of Texas over a sensationalist measure against migrants. The Department of Justice announced on Monday that it has filed a public civil action against the installation of a floating barrier on the Rio Grande.
Conservative Republican Governor Greg Abbott arranged for red-orange buoys the size of wrecking balls to be placed several hundred meters along the Mexico-Texas maritime border, which is popular with migrants. This is to prevent people from swimming across the Rio Grande into the US mainland.
Since May, new rules have been in effect at the US-Mexico border:
The US has changed its entry rules at the border with Mexico. Under Decree 42, many migrants were turned away. More flexible and equally strict rules now apply.
05/13/2023 | 02:23min
Prosecutor Vanita Gupta argued that the Texas government violated the law by failing to get Washington’s approval for the barrier.
The buoys also posed a threat to shipping and public safety, prompting a diplomatic note of protest from the Mexican government. The Ministry of Justice wants to use the action to dismantle the buoys.
The White House called Governor Abbott’s actions a “political coup”. The Biden administration stressed that the number of illegal border crossings was the lowest in two years.
Faced with the large number of immigrants, mainly on the land border with Mexico, the government of US President Joe Biden had enacted numerous measures to contain the flow.
President Biden traveled to the US-Mexico border in January for the first time since taking office:
US President Biden visited the border area with Mexico to discuss migration.
09.01.2023 | 02:35 min At the end of April, the US government announced that it would open immigration centers in Colombia and Guatemala and promote the initial registration of asylum seekers. In this way, they want to “spare” people the often perilous journey to the US border.
Since 2021, illegal crossings from Mexico to the US mainland have grown to as many as 250,000 per month. In June, that number was just under 145,000. The issue of migration is polarizing in the United States, with Republicans accusing the Biden administration of having an “open door policy”. Abbott and other politicians repeatedly draw attention to the situation with sometimes populist actions.
The Biden administration wanted to solve the problem of the many migrants coming from Central America to the US not just at the border, but directly in the countries of origin.
11/01/2023 | 06:40min