GOP Lawmaker Says Biden Admin Using Mussels as ‘Shell Game’ for Open Border Policies

A U.S. lawmaker from Texas has accused the Biden administration of using the Endangered Species Act as a pretext to force Texas to remove its floating barrier from the Rio Grande, which state authorities installed in July to deter illegal immigrants from crossing into Texas.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers ride past buoys while patrolling the Rio Grande along the international boundary of the United States and Mexico near Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 29, 2023. Adrees Latif/Reuters

A House Republican accused the Biden administration on Wednesday of playing “shell games” at the U.S.-Mexico border after the federal government proposed that two species of mussels be named as endangered species.

These specific mussels are found only in the area of Texas where state officials installed a floating barrier to deter illegal immigration through the Rio Grande.