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US News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defends floating border wall: ‘I will do whatever I have to do’

By
Rich Calder
Published July 29, 2023, 5:05 p.m. ET

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is staunchly defending his decision to install a massive floating border wall along the Rio Grande to keep undocumented immigrants from illegally entering the United States.

“I will do whatever I have to do to defend our state from the invasion of the Mexican drug cartels and others who have tried to come into our country illegally, and I will protect our sovereignty,” said the three-term Republican governor while addressing the state’s Republican county chairs on Friday, according to Austin-based Fox 7.

The remarks come days after the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to remove a roughly 1,000-foot line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys strung across the river separating the US from Mexico, which the Biden administration is contends is illegal and raises humanitarian and environmental concerns.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Despite being sued by the Department of Justice, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is doubling down on his decision to install a massive floating wall along the Rio Grande to keep undocumented immigrants from illegally entering the United States. Getty Images
Migrants on July 16 walk past a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Department of Justice has called the floating border wall “unlawful construction,” but Abbott isn’t planning to remove it. AFP via Getty Images
 A woman holds a child on her back earlier this month as she and other migrants walk along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas.
The remarks come days after the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to remove a roughly 1,000-foot line of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys strung across the river separating the US from Mexico. AFP via Getty Images

It was set up earlier this month near Eagle Pass, a city believed to be a main entry way for illegal border crossings. The contraption can be moved and extended to cover “hot spots” where asylum seekers are sneaking into the US, according to Abbott.

“It’s called operation hold the line,” he said. “They are holding the line and ensuring that nobody enters the state of Texas illegally.”

The Department of Justice has called the floating border wall “unlawful construction,” but Abbott isn’t planning to remove it.

“He gave me a lawsuit, and by God, Joe Biden, we will see you in court,” said Abbott.

“I challenge the federal government to show that they have spent that much money in the state of Texas on the border under Joe Biden as president.”