• Re: Texas defies federal threat to abandon border area, setting up lega

    From Democrat treason@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 18 10:24:58 2024
    XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns XPost: tx.politics

    On 19 May 2023, "Hail Putin!" <nowomr@protonmail.com> posted some news:u48bgc$o0vo$2@dont-email.me:

    Biden, Harris, Mayorkas, and Garland should all be hung for treason in
    front of the Washington Monument.

    The attorney general of Texas on Wednesday defied federal officials who demanded state authorities abandon a public park along the U.S.-Mexico
    border that state National Guard soldiers seized last week, setting up a
    legal showdown with the Biden administration over the country's
    immigration policies.

    Over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security called on Texas
    officials to stop blocking federal Border Patrol from entering Shelby
    Park in Eagle Pass, an area next to the Rio Grande that the agency had
    been using to hold and inspect migrants. The department said Texas' move
    to commandeer the park was obstructing Border Patrol's obligations to
    apprehend and process migrants.

    The top lawyer at DHS, Jonathan Meyer, warned Texas Attorney General
    Paxton over the weekend that the department would refer the matter to
    the Justice Department for potential legal action if the state did not
    relent.

    In a scathing response to Meyer on Wednesday, Paxton indicated that
    Texas would not back down, rejecting the Biden administration's
    accusation that state's actions were "clearly unconstitutional."

    "Because the facts and law side with Texas, the State will continue
    utilizing its constitutional authority to defend her territory, and I
    will continue defending those lawful efforts in court," Paxton wrote.

    "Rather than addressing Texas's urgent requests for protection,
    President Biden has authorized DHS to send a threatening letter through
    its lawyers," Paxton added. "But Texas has lawyers, too, and I will
    continue to stand up for this State's constitutional powers of
    self-defense."

    The Justice Department declined to comment on Paxton's letter.

    Texas National Guard soldiers took control of Shelby Park in the middle
    of last week, alarming federal authorities and local officials in Eagle
    Pass, who said they did not approve the takeover of a city park.

    While Texas said the abrupt move was designed to deter migrants from
    crossing into the area illegally, the Biden administration has argued
    the park's seizure has prevented Border Patrol agents from doing their
    jobs, including during emergency situations.

    Over the weekend, federal officials and a Texas congressman said Texas
    National Guard soldiers barred Border Patrol agents from attempting to
    render aid to a group of migrants in distress, including a woman and two children who drowned. Texas officials denied the allegation, and the
    Justice Department later clarified in a filing to the Supreme Court that
    the drownings had already occurred when Border Patrol agents asked for
    and were denied permission to enter Shelby Park to attempt to help other migrants in distress.

    Still, the Justice Department suggested the situation could have played
    out differently if Texas had not sealed off Shelby Park.

    "It is impossible to say what might have happened if Border Patrol had
    had its former access to the area — including through its surveillance
    trucks that assisted in monitoring the area," the Justice Department
    said Monday. "At the very least, however, Border Patrol would have had
    the opportunity to take any available steps to fulfill its
    responsibilities and assist its counterparts in the Mexican government
    with undertaking the rescue mission. Texas made that impossible."

    While it's unclear whether the Justice Department will sue Texas to
    regain federal control of Shelby Park, it has already alerted the
    Supreme Court of the situation in a case regarding the razor wire the
    state has set up to repel migrant crossings. The Justice Department is
    asking the high court to suspend a lower court ruling that has generally prohibited Border Patrol from cutting the wire to process migrants who
    are already on American soil.

    The Eagle Pass standoff is the latest flashpoint in a political battle
    between Texas Gov. Greg Abott and President Biden over how the U.S.
    should deal with migrant crossings, which have soared to record levels
    over the past three years. Among other actions, Abbott has directed
    Texas to bus tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities with "sanctuary" policies.

    Over the weekend, the White House denounced Texas' move in Eagle Pass as "inhumane" and "dangerous," saying Border Patrol "must have access to
    the border to enforce our laws."

    Paxton rebuffed that criticism on Wednesday, telling DHS it was not
    fully enforcing U.S. immigration law.

    "There is not even a pretense that you are trying to prevent the illegal
    entry of aliens," he said.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-border-us-mexico-ken-paxton-attorney-g eneral/

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