Questions have been raised about Texas Governor Greg Abbott using disaster declarations as the legal basis for harsh tactics designed to keep migrants from entering the U.S.
Texas installed a floating barrier of large buoys on the Rio Grande river near the border town of Eagle Pass earlier this month as part of Abbott's multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico.
The barrier, as well as the state's use of razor wire to deter migrants, has prompted a warning from Joe Biden's administration. Abbott has said the measures are within his authority because of what he says is a state of emergency caused by migrants crossing illegally into Texas.
Critics have said using disaster declarations to implement tougher border policies isn't legally sound.
"The Texas disaster declaration legally cannot justify the State's deadly deployment on the Rio Grande, which is a river that supports two countries and has sustained life in our communities for millennia," David Donatti, an attorney for the Texas American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Newsweek.
"What Gov. Abbott is doing at the border will continue to seriously hurt people and lead to more deaths. It is Texas' lethal cruelty that is damaging our border communities."
Abbott's office has been contacted for comment via email.
Jessie Fuentes, the owner of a Texas kayaking company, has sued Abbott and other state officials over the buoys, arguing that they have hurt his business and that border crossings aren't covered by the Texas Disaster Act.
"Disaster declarations are meant to allow limited emergency action in the case of a 'disaster' as defined in the Texas Disaster Act of 1975," Natalie Lewis, an attorney representing Fuentes, told Newsweek.
"Unlawful immigration was not included within the definition of 'disaster' because it was not intended to be classified as such. The definition does not implicitly or explicitly provide the state of Texas with the authority to create its own border patrol agency and install border barriers or buoys in international waters."
Lewis said the state of Texas "must demonstrate how installation of a buoy system in the Rio Grande is supported by Texas law; and unless and until it can do so, it must cease the installation immediately and remove any buoys prematurely placed."
Meanwhile, recent reports of drowning and young migrants being injured by the wire have sparked fresh criticism of Abbott's border crackdown.
The Houston Chronicle reported last week that officers were also being ordered to deny migrants water in extreme temperatures and push children and mothers back into the river, citing an email from a Department of Public Safety trooper. Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine denied the claims.
The trooper's email to a superior raised alarm that Texas was setting "traps" of razor wire-wrapped barrels in parts of the river with high water and low visibility, increasing the risks of drowning.
The trooper also reported numerous injuries that migrants had sustained as a result of the tactics, which he described as "inhumane."
They included a pregnant woman who was found caught in the wire having a miscarriage, a teenager who broke his leg trying to navigate the wire in the river and a four-year-old who passed out from heat exhaustion.
"Texas must immediately stop intentionally endangering the lives of migrants seeking protection at the border," Sarah Mehta, senior border policy counsel at the ACLU, said in a statement.
"The federal government must also act, by investigating these damning allegations and by the Department of Homeland Security decisively ending its own collusion with Operation Lone Star, which has facilitated and encouraged Texas's expansion of a proven human and civil rights disaster."
Meanwhile, more than 80 congressional Democrats have urged President Joe Biden to intervene.
"We write to express our profound alarm over border policies instituted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that are putting asylum-seekers at serious risk of injury and death, interfering with federal immigration enforcement, infringing on private property rights, and violating U.S. treaty commitments with Mexico," said the letter, signed by almost 90 Democrats.
"We urge you to assert your authority over federal immigration policy and foreign relations and investigate and pursue legal action, as appropriate, related to stop Governor Abbott's dangerous and cruel actions."
The Justice Department informed Texas earlier this month that the use of razor wire and floating barriers violates federal law, and that the department will sue if they aren't removed.
Abbott responded on Twitter. "Texas has the sovereign authority to defend our border," he tweeted.
He once again attacked Biden's border policies, writing that they "encourage migrants to risk their lives crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, instead of safely and legally over a bridge."
He added: "Texas is stepping up to address this crisis. We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texans and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives. We will see you in court, Mr. President."
The floating barrier has also prompted a response from Mexico.
Alicia Bárcena, Mexico's secretary of foreign relations, asked the U.S. government to remove the buoys and razor wire in a June letter, saying they may violate treaties on boundaries and water. She also complained about efforts to put up barbed wire on a low-lying island in the river near Eagle Pass, Texas.
Update 7/25/23, 4 a.m ET: This article has been updated to add comments from Natalie Lewis and David Donatti.
