Justice Department orders Texas to remove deadly—and illegal—Rio Grande traps

The Department of Justice has weighed in on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's deadly border trap targeting migrants crossing the Rio Grande. In a Thursday letter to Abbott, the DOJ warned the state that it would be filing legal action to force Texas to remove the mid-river buoys wrapped in razor wire. While the department did not come right out and accuse Abbott and his fellow Republicans of being murderous, criminal monsters, it sure hinted at it.

“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the letter stated, citing a clause in the law that “prohibits the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States, and further prohibits building any structure in such waters without authorization from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”)," says the letter, which was obtained by CNN.

At issue is the design of the Republican-pushed border obstruction, which seems plainly intended to cause death.