(TotalConservative.com) – Republican Governor of Texas Greg Abbott achieved a major victory last week in his legal battle with the Biden administration following a district court ruling dismissing the complaints by the federal government about the governor’s efforts to secure the southern border.
Last Wednesday, the Austin Division of the Western Texas US District Court considered the Texas governor’s request to dismiss complaints filed by the Justice Department about Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. Abbott and the state of Texas launched the operation to take matters into their own hands to secure the southern border due to the federal government’s failure to do so.
The controversy started over the summer when Abbot ordered the installation of a buoy barrier with a net attached across the Rio Grande River to stop immigrants from attempting to cross into the US through the perilous waters. Texas Democrats, Mexican authorities, and human rights groups have all condemned the barrier.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) quickly sued Abbott and Texas over the barriers, which they claim violate the Rivers and Harbors Act that protects navigable waters. They also argued that it endangers the environment. Abbot refused to remove the barrier. Instead, he filed an appeal and said he would be willing to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Judge David Alan Ezra approved the motion on Wednesday, ruling that “sovereign States like the Defendant State of Texas and its officials” cannot be punished based on the Rivers and Harbors Act, which only authorizes actions to be taken against individuals or corporations. Abbott also argued in his motion that the area where the buoy barrier is placed in the Rio Grande is not technically navigable waters, meaning no obstruction exists.
The decision last week is the first positive news the Texas governor has received since the barrier was ordered to be moved by the federal appeals court, which ruled against Abbott the week prior. The governor said the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision was “clearly wrong” and violated the “sovereign authority” of the state to secure its own borders.
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