The news website InfoWars has lodged a lawsuit against the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over its recent ban on unmanned aircrafts systems (UAS) flying over the Del Rio Bridge in southern Texas, where up to 10,000 migrants, mostly Haitians, earlier formed a makeshift camp.
In the lawsuit, the website owned by radio show host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones mentions InfoWars as the plaintiff and FAA administrator Steve Dickson as the defendant.
"The United States government has grown to recognise the danger that UAS present in terms of limiting how the government might control the narrative of a crisis and exposing government falsehoods and/or malfeasance", the document reads.
Referring to the FAA's drone ban, the lawsuit argues that the US government's "implementation of the Temporary Flight Restriction serves no other purpose than to hamper the efforts of the press in covering the unfolding crisis, in violation of Free Speech System's First Amendment Rights and should not stand".
While the FAA cited unspecified "special security reasons" when announcing a two-week no-fly zone for drones in the area on Thursday, Republicans were quick to accuse the Biden administration of censorship, with Senator Ted Cruz describing the ban as "ridiculous".
In a video message filmed in front of the Del Rio bridge, Cruz claimed that "this man-made disaster was caused by Joe Biden".
He was echoed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who asserted that "the Biden administration is in complete disarray and is handling the border crisis as badly as the evacuation from Afghanistan".
Abbott added that he had "directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to maintain their presence at and around ports of entry to deter crossings".
The developments unfolded against the backdrop of the Biden administration's decision to resume deportation flights to Haiti despite the country's ongoing political, economic, and environmental disasters. On Friday, the US Coast Guard repatriated 102 Haitians to their homeland after their boat was intercepted about 17 miles away from Miami.
The situation along the US southern border has remained tense for several months, with the Biden administration being criticised for its migrant policies. The latter have mainly involved reversing many of Trump's tough migrant laws. A lot of the backlash has been targeted at Vice President Harris who was tasked with handling the border issue but who has repeatedly avoided visiting the southern border.
Former US President Trump adopted a much harsher approach, including building a wall on the border with Mexico.