The federal appeals court ruled that Texas must relocate a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that sparked controversy with Mexico, delivering a setback to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive efforts to prevent migrants from entering the U.S. unlawfully.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered Texas to suspend any work on the approximately 1,000-foot (300-meter) barrier and move it to the riverbank, aligning with a previous lower court ruling that Abbott had labeled as “incorrect” and foresaw as being overturned.
This ruling represents the second legal defeat for Texas this week in relation to its border operations. Earlier in the week, a federal judge permitted U.S. Border Patrol agents to continue cutting razor wire installed by the state along the riverbank, despite Texas officials’ protests.
For months, Texas has argued that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws safeguarding navigable waters. However, the judges agreed with the lower court’s decision to support the Biden administration’s position.
The state immediately announced plans to seek a rehearing from the court, with Abbott calling the ruling “clearly wrong” and stating that they would go to the Supreme Court if necessary to protect Texas from what he calls “Biden’s open borders.”
The Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Abbott over the linked and anchored buoys, which span the length of three soccer fields, following their installation at the international border with Mexico. These buoys are situated between the Texas border city of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.
The barrier was installed at a time when thousands of individuals were illegally entering the U.S. via this area, and a lower district court ordered the state to move the barriers in September.
The Biden administration sued under the Rivers and Harbors Act, a law designed to protect navigable waters. Judge Don Willet, a former Supreme Court justice and a Donald Trump appointee, expressed dissent, stating that the order to move the barriers would not alleviate the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Mexican governments as claimed by the Biden administration.
Last fiscal year, nearly 400,000 people attempted to enter the U.S. through the section of the southwest border that includes Eagle Pass.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, in the lower court’s decision, questioned Texas’ justification for the barrier, indicating that the state failed to provide credible evidence that the buoy barrier significantly reduced illegal immigration.
Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to the ruling.
