Texas is refusing to cooperate with the Biden administration’s cease-and-desist letter over state activities that have hampered US Border Patrol agents access to a portion of the Mexican border.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton rejected the Biden administration’s request that the state “cease and desist” from taking over Shelby Park, an epicenter of southwest border illegal immigration in Eagle Pass.
“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 said in a statement.
A DHS spokesperson referred NBC News to Department of Homeland Security General Counsel Jonathan Meyer’s letter this week directing the state to stop blocking the Border Patrol’s full access to roughly 2½ miles of the U.S.-Mexico border occupied by the state National Guard.
According to DHS authorities, a lady and two children perished in the Rio Grande after Border Patrol agents “were physically barred by Texas officials from entering the area” on instructions from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Texas Military Department questioned the DHS statement, stating that its officers were aware of a distress report but had not found any distressed migrants.
A White House spokesperson attacked Abbott’s immigration policy in response to the drownings, stating in a statement this week that his “political stunts are cruel, inhumane, and dangerous.”
In his letter on Wednesday, Paxton stated that any insinuation that the state was culpable for the killings “is vile and, as you now should be aware, completely inaccurate.”
The Biden administration has vowed to bring the case to the Justice Department if Texas denies Border Patrol officials complete access to the area.