Texas Adds More Floating Barriers in Rio Grande Despite Legal Challenges
Texas officials have expanded their floating border barriers in the Rio Grande on Wednesday, adding more buoys to deter illegal crossings. This move comes after the Biden administration unsuccessfully sought to remove the barriers through legal action.
Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, defended the decision, posting on X, “Despite the Biden-Harris Administration’s attempts to shut down our border security efforts, the buoys are here to stay.”
He included a video showing the large, spinning orbs—each about the size of a washing machine—being lowered into the water. Abbott emphasized that the state would not retreat from its mission to prevent illegal immigration, stating, “We won’t back down.”
This action comes as authorities in border states brace for a potential surge of migrants attempting to cross before President-elect Trump takes office. While there have been reports of smaller groups of migrants, an increase in numbers has yet to materialize, according to sources earlier this week.
The newly installed barriers join a previous 1,000-foot section placed near Eagle Pass, Texas, in June 2023, a region notorious for drug trafficking and human smuggling. Abbott’s office claims the floating barriers have been highly effective, with no migrants attempting to cross over them since their installation.
“These have been so successful that not a single migrant has attempted to cross over them,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said.
The floating barriers have sparked a lengthy legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration. The federal government sued the state, arguing that the barriers violate the Rivers and Harbors Act.
While a district court initially sided with the Biden administration, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Texas, allowing the barriers to remain in place. The Supreme Court is expected to ultimately decide the fate of the floating barriers.
Despite the ongoing legal issues, Abbott remains steadfast. “Despite the Biden Administration fighting us every step of the way, courts have ruled that Texas has the right to deploy floating marine barriers, and Texas is installing even more of these barriers to stop illegal immigration into our state,” Mahaleris said.
Though the 1,000-foot barrier only covers a small portion of the Texas-Mexico border, it has reportedly contributed to a significant decrease in illegal crossings in the Eagle Pass area. Unauthorized crossings in that area dropped to 8,500 last month, down from 38,000 in the same month the previous year.
Overall, border crossings have decreased since the Biden administration imposed new restrictions on asylum seekers, aiming to ease border concerns ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
