The Justice Department is assessing the situation along the Texas-Mexico border following reports that Texas troopers were told to push back migrants into the Rio Grande and ordered not to give them water, calling those reports “troubling” in a statement to . The Justice Department’s statement is the first public acknowledgment that the department is assessing the situation but falls short of opening an investigation. An assessment could be the first step toward an investigation. “The department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are working with DHS and other relevant agencies to assess the situation,” DOJ spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa told . In a Tuesday joint statement with other Texas top officials, including Department of Public Safety Chief Steve McCraw, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said there have been no orders or directions given under Operation Lone Star that “would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.” The Biden administration has repeatedly criticized Abbott’s actions along the US southern border and his decision to transport migrants to Democratic-led cities without coordination. previously reported that the Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department were in ongoing discussions about what actions could be taken against the state. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called Abbott’s recent actions at the border a “political stunt” and “shameful” when asked about concerns from the Mexican government over the state’s floating barriers. “I saw these reports and I think one of the things and I’ve been very clear about this that this governor has done over and over and over again is treated this situation we’re seeing at the border in an inhumane way. It is atrocious – the actions that he decides to take. … Instead of dealing with this issue in a way that we can get to a resolution and are working together, he turns it into a political stunt,” Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. “This is what we see over and over and over and again from this governor, from Gov. Abbott and it is – all we’re asking for – as a country and what we should hold near and dear is the basic human decency. Basic human decency and we are just not seeing this from this governor.” Jean-Pierre said she would not speak to the “legal piece her answer was: “We will refer A The Department The Department isassessing whether to sue the state of Texas after reports that Texas troopers were told to push back migrants into the Rio Grande and ordered not to give them water, calling those reports “troublesome” in a statement to . The Justice Department’s statement is the first public acknowledging that the department is assessing the situation but falls short of opening an investigation. An assessment could be the first step toward an investigation. “The department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are working with DHS
The Justice Department said Friday it is assessing the situation along the Texas-Mexico border amid “troubling reports” of migrant treatment.
