By Steve Neavling
The Department of Homeland Security is demanding that Texas authorities stop preventing Border Patrol agents from accessing sections of the U.S. border with Mexico.
In a cease-and-desist letter, Homeland Security general counsel Jonathan Meyer told Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that the state’s actions have “impeded operations” of Border Patrol and are in “conflict with the authority and duties of Border Patrol under federal law,” NBC News reports.
The letter was sent Sunday, two days after federal authorities said Texas officials denied Border Patrol agents access to the Rio Grande, where a woman and two children were drowning.
Their bodies were later found by Texas officials.
The letter gives Texas until Wednesday to stop blocking agents’ access. If the state fails to comply, federal officials will “refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate action and consider all other options available to restore Border Patrol’s access to the border,” the letter said.
