Judge sides with Biden admin and orders Gov. Abbott to remove floating border barrier



Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was dealt a blow in court on Wednesday when a judge sided with the Biden administration and ordered a floating border barrier to be temporarily removed.

Abbott had ordered the 1,000-foot line of buoys as a deterrent against illegal aliens seeking entry into the U.S. by wading or swimming across the Rio Grande.

“Governor Abbott announced that he was not ‘asking for permission’ for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier," wrote federal District Judge David A. Ezra in his ruling.

"Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation’s navigable waters,” he added.

Illegal alien activists have called Abbott's efforts to end illegal immigration inhumane and unjust.

“The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, as millions of other immigrants have done for hundreds of years in this country,” said activist Carolina Canizales.

Abbott's office immediately said that it would appeal the ruling.

“Today’s court decision merely prolongs President Biden’s willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along,” read a statement from Abbott.

“We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," the statement added.

The U.S. Department of Justice had filed the lawsuit against Texas in July and argued that the governor had not obtained the necessary authorization for the barrier. The lawsuit also claims that the barrier threatens foreign relations with Mexico.

Ezra went on in his ruling to opine that the lawsuit would likely succeed on the basis that Texas needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to construct barriers in navigable water. He has ordered Abbott to remove the barriers by Sept. 15.

Here's more about the border buoy barrier ruling:

Judge orders Texas to remove border buoys www.youtube.com

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Justice Dept. sues Texas over new restrictions on abortions



U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas over the state's new pro-life law that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

Garland claimed that the new law was "clearly unconstitutional under longstanding Supreme Court precedent" during a media briefing.

"This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans, whatever their politics or party, should fear," Garland continued.

Garland went on to criticize how the law allowed private litigation to enforce the ban on abortions in order to circumvent constitutional restrictions on the government directly limiting abortions.

"If it prevails, it may become a model for action in other areas by other states and with respect to other constitutional rights and judicial precedents," he added. "Nor need one think long or hard to realize the damage that would be done to our society if states were allowed to implement laws that empower any private individual to infringe on another's constitutionally protected rights in this way."

Opponents of the law asked the Supreme Court for an emergency injunction to stop its implementation but the court decided on a 5-4 vote to allow the new restrictions.

The DOJ lawsuit filed in a federal court in Austin argues that the Texas law violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which makes local and state laws void if contrary to federal law.

"The United States has the authority and responsibility to ensure that Texas cannot evade its obligations under the Constitution and deprive individuals of their constitutional rights by adopting a statutory scheme designed specifically to evade traditional mechanisms of federal judicial review," read the lawsuit.

The lawsuit cited Chief Justice John Roberts, who joined the liberal wing of the court to dissent against the majority decision. Roberts condemned Texas for passing a law in "open defiance of the Constitution."

Garland said that since the law was implemented, some clinics have shut down altogether while others have stopped performing abortions before six weeks.

Many on the left have excoriated the new law and used the occasion to compare Christians and conservatives to Taliban terrorists.

Here's more about the DOJ lawsuit against Texas:

Attorney General Merrick Garland announces lawsuit challenging Texas abortion lawwww.youtube.com