West DFW News

Rep. Jodey Arrington criticized the Biden administration's prioritization of marine life impact resulting from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's river barrier installation, rather than addressing the pressing issue of dangerous Mexican drug cartels. Arrington emphasized that Abbott should disregard Biden's actions, labeling them a "shell game."

“Gov. Abbott has the constitutional authority to secure the border and protect his citizens. He should pay no attention to Biden’s shell game,” Arrington said in a press release. “While Biden has failed to use federal powers to secure the border, he has no problem weaponizing the government to prevent states from doing so in his absence. Where was Biden's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s concerns when millions of migrants trampled the mussel’s “critical habitat” while illegally crossing the Rio Grande? Clearly, Biden is more concerned about disrupting the habitat of the Mexican mussels than disrupting the operations of Mexican cartels who are destroying the lives of Americans and migrants alike.”

The Biden administration proposed to categorize the Mexican fawnsfoot mussel and the Salina mucket mussel as endangered. Arrington believes that these new EPA rules only interfere with Abbott's actions to maintain law and order at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the press release. 

Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially proposed the listing of two mussel species as endangered under the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The designation requires federal agencies to consult with the service on any actions that may affect critical habitat. The choice to either enact or withdraw the proposal is reached approximately one year after its publication in the Federal Register. Should an endangerment declaration be enacted, it could necessitate the removal of a 1,000-foot-long series of sizable red buoys by Abbott and could also impose restrictions on further buoy deployments in the border river due to its designation as a "critical habitat."

These mussels exclusively inhabit a segment of the Rio Grande River extending from Eagle Pass toward the Gulf of Mexico, precisely where Abbott has recently erected a buoy barrier to deter unauthorized border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico, the Washington Examiner reported.

In February of this year, the most recent assessment of the mussels was conducted, revealing that the mussels' exclusive habitat lies in a specific stretch of the river, as determined by a 109-page report from the FWS's Albuquerque office.

The same day of the FWS announcement, the Justice Department initiated a lawsuit against Abbott, compelling the removal of a floating barrier in Eagle Pass due to concerns over navigation, public safety and humanitarian issues, focusing on a 1,000-foot section of the 2,000-mile southern border, ABC News reported.

During his time in office, Arrington has taken the lead in organizing press conferences alongside fellow Texas representatives, advocating for the safeguarding of Texas' border rights and urging Abbott to take all required actions to ensure the protection of the state's residents.