WESLACO, Texas - The head of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission says Gov. Greg Abbott does not have a permit to erect a floating barrier on the Rio Grande River.
Marie-Elena Giner visited Weslaco on Wednesday for a series of multi-agency meetings with farmers and irrigators.
“A permit is needed in order to to avoid shifting of the boundary because of obstruction, impediments that are put in there, which could potentially change the boundary, deflect the boundary. That's one thing,” Giner told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
“The other issue that we also have is that should we have a flood event, all of that infrastructure that's there without a permit, may actually impact flooding and may actually cause more flooding, damage to the levees, damage to the ports, damage to our dams.”
Under Gov. Abbott’s orders, Texas law enforcement officials have installed a floating border barrier, consisting of a razor wire fence and buoys, along the middle of the Rio Grande. This has led to an increase in migrant injuries, according to news reports. And, in an email to leading Texas newspapers, a state trooper said his superiors ordered officers at the border in Eagle Pass to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water. This has led to both federal and state investigations.
Giner told reporters that the IBWC, which administers international treat obligations related to the Rio Grande, has reached out to the state of Texas, “to let them know that we have an issue with regards to all of the activity that has been going on.”
Giner said there's a “process required to request a permit to be able to realize this (state) activity.”
She said: “We are just we were very surprised on the buoys. Given the fact that we have not received any information or request for a permit we have referred all of this information to the Department of Justice and they are moving forward on evaluating this information.”
Asked if the Mexican section of the IBWC had voiced concerns about Abbott’s actions, Giner said: “They have strongly expressed their deepest concern and objection to the work that's being done.”
Via Twitter, Abbott has said Texas is ignoring federal permitting requirements when placing any structure on the Rio Grande. “We aren’t asking for permission,” Abbott tweeted in March. He was referring to his decision to erect 60 milers of razor wire in the middle of the river.
Abbott’s office has not responded to news reports that state troopers are being told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and to deny them water. In a joint statement, Texas Adjutant General Major General Thomas Suelzer, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, and Texas Border Czar Mike Banks said: “No orders or directions have been given under Operation Lone Star that would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.”
The Democratic congressional delegation hosted a webinar on Tuesday to denounce Abbott’s floating barriers on the Rio Grande. U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston said Abbott should be impeached. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Houston, a native of South Texas, said the United Nations should investigate.
Two members of Congress from the Texas-Mexico border were on the webinar - U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Veronica Escobar of El Paso. Here is what they had to say on the webinar:
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