Texas ordered to remove buoys blocking migrants' access to Rio Grande

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Sep 2023 09:31

The Biden administration argues that the barrier constitutes an unlawful obstruction to navigation and was erected without the requisite authorization from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

A guardsman keeps watch over a section of the Rio Grande that is fortified with concertina wires and large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande, on Aug. 1, 2023 (AP)

A US judge has issued an order directing Texas to relocate a series of floating buoys that had been positioned in the middle of the Rio Grande in an attempt to impede migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border.

This ruling represents a preliminary victory for the Biden administration, following the Department of Justice's (DoJ) lawsuit against the state.

On Wednesday, Federal Judge David Ezra in Austin, the state capital, issued a preliminary injunction mandating the relocation of the contentious buoys, currently positioned near Eagle Pass, to a bank on the Texas side of the river.

The Biden administration argued that the barrier was an unlawful obstruction to navigation and was erected without the requisite authorization from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The ruling represents a serious setback for Texas Governor Greg Abbott who maintains that Biden has pursued an overly lenient approach to border security, especially considering the surging numbers of migrants apprehended after crossing the border in recent years.

While some migrants aim to evade authorities, many seek to voluntarily present themselves to officials, asserting their right to seek asylum in the US and undergo the processing procedure -- a characterization that Abbott categorizes as an "invasion".

The extensive floating barrier has been a highly visible tactic employed by Governor Abbott. However, it constitutes just one element of the multifaceted approach he is implementing within the state project known as Operation Lone Star.

This comprehensive initiative is designed to dissuade migrants from reaching US territory, and it includes measures such as coils of razor wire, state vehicles, troops patrolling extensively cleared riverbanks, helicopters, and boats.

There have been reported grievances about individuals being directed back to Mexico by both state and federal personnel.

"Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier," Ezra wrote in his ruling.

"Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation’s navigable waters."

Texas has the option to seek an appeal with the conservative-leaning Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals. The buoys and various components that constitute Governor Abbott's barrier strategies have garnered criticism from immigration rights activists and environmental groups.