Leubsdorf: Political border battle rages

House Republicans threatened that action after winning their majority last November. They also passed legislation that is unacceptable to either the Senate or Biden.

In Texas, meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest scheme to stop illegal immigration — installing floating barriers and razor wire in the Rio Grande — has stirred a sharp backlash, including criticism from the Mexican government and legal action by the Biden administration to stop measures it called “despicable” and “inhumane.”

In its suit, the Justice Department contends that the state’s unilateral installation of floating barriers violated a U.S.-Mexico agreement covering international waters and a requirement for permission from the Corps of Engineers, arguments promptly dismissed by Abbott.

It came after he sent Biden a letter, welcoming a confrontation, defending his actions and charging that the administration’s failure to solve the border problem put migrants at risk.

“Texas will see you in court, Mr. President,” Abbott said.

In fact, these solutions are all destined to fail — Biden’s, Abbott’s and the House GOP’s — because the underlying problems won’t be solved without bipartisan legislation protecting the border and asylum seekers and providing a legal road to citizenship for those who meet specified procedures. Unfortunately, there’s no sign of that happening any time soon.

House Republicans did pass a bill to add border agents, resume building former President Donald Trump’s border wall and authorize the secretary to bar any potential entrant if “necessary in order to achieve operational control over” the border.

But the Democratic-controlled Senate won’t consider it. And it’s unclear the GOP House could pass an impeachment resolution against Mayorkas if its Homeland Security Committee recommends one.

Meanwhile, Abbott has continued to step up hard-line policies on which Texas has spent billions under Operation Lone Star. His latest actions — including installing the floating barriers — have encountered more than the usual criticism from Democrats and immigrant rights groups.

Last week, the Justice Department warned it would file legal action unless the state withdrew the floating barriers, declaring, “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.”

And the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a “significant and continuing decline in migrant encounters along the Southwest border,” noting June crossings of 99,945 were 42 percent lower than in May and the lowest in two years.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal weighed in with a negative assessment of the Texas efforts. In a lengthy article, Texas-based reporter Elizabeth Findell concluded “Texas has spent two years and billions of dollars on the most aggressive effort by any state to take over federal border security.

“There’s no indication it has worked,” she concluded, noting, “The area of the border most heavily targeted by Operation Lone Star has seen the most rapid increases in illegal border crossings since the operation began.”

Unfortunately, neither criticism nor the improved border situation — not to mention a pro-migrant court decision — is likely to deter GOP efforts to pursue the problem politically, rather than practically.