Mayorkas denounces Gov. Abbott's efforts to fortify border with razor wire, says migrants "easily cutting" barriers

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CBS News

Updated on: April 5, 2024 / 6:40 PM EDT


Washington — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday denounced Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's effort to fortify stretches of the southern border with razor and concertina wire as ineffective, saying migrants are "easily cutting" the barriers. "We do not consider concertina wire to be effective. It impairs Customs and Border Protection's ability to do its job, and we're also seeing migrants rather easily cutting concertina wire," Mayorkas told a group of reporters who attended a roundtable on Friday at Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters in Washington.

As part of a broader, multi-billion-dollar campaign known as Operation Lone Star, Abbott has instructed state National Guard troops to put up concertina and razor wire, as well as other barriers, along parts of Texas' border with Mexico. The wire is currently at the center of an ongoing legal battle in federal court between Texas and the U.S. Justice Department.

Abbott argues that the barriers deter migrants from crossing into his state illegally and has credited them for a marked drop in illegal crossings along the Texas border since last year. More broadly, he has claimed that Texas' actions, which also include arrests of migrants on trespassing charges, are responsible for pushing migrant crossings into Arizona and California in recent months.

But Mayorkas disputed Abbott's claim on Friday, noting that some stretches of the Texas-Mexico border were fortified with razor wire late last year, when migrant crossings were soaring to record levels, including in the Texas border town of Eagle Pass.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mayorkas-texas-governor-greg-abbott-border-razor-wire/

[Novara]

1. Whay doesn't the US sue Abbot vor violating the supremacy clause?

[BumRushDaShow]

2. They did back in January

A whole pile of appeals and stays ensued (which is where they stand today) -

Justice Department sues Texas, Gov. Abbott over state law allowing migrant arrests, deportations


Hogan Gore and Thao Nguyen USA TODAY NETWORK
Published 10:23 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2024 | Updated 10:23 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2024


AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday to block a slate of new "unconstitutional" state-level immigration penalties from taking effect, including allowing police to arrest migrants who enter the country illegally.

In a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, federal prosecutors argue that Senate Bill 4 — which Abbott signed into law last month — will infringe upon and counteract federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. SB4, which is set to take effect in March, creates a series of criminal penalties for illegal border crossings with provisions allowing state judges to deport individuals.

(snip)

Texas' SB4 contested several times

Making the federal government's case on behalf of a litany of federal agencies charged with overseeing immigration and foreign relations, the Justice Department cites previous U.S. Supreme Court precedent in arguing that SB4 is preempted by existing federal law and is a violation of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution and longstanding Supreme Court precedent, states cannot adopt immigration laws that interfere with the framework enacted by Congress," said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "The Justice Department will continue to fulfill its responsibility to uphold the Constitution and enforce federal law."

(snip)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/01/03/justice-department-lawsuit-texas-sb4-migrant-arrests/72102041007/