Texas Ordered To Remove Floating Barriers Along Rio Grande by Judge

By Rick Martin Sep 07 2023, 00:20 AM EDT

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's controversial floating barriers must be removed from the Rio Grande, ruled a federal judge on Wednesday. The judge ruled that Abbott illegally installed these barriers along the US-Mexico border.

In his opinion, Federal District Judge David A. Ezra wrote that while Abbott announced that he was not "asking for permission" to install these barriers that were designed to keep migrants away from crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico, federal law still required permission to be filed because these barriers are obstructing navigable waters.

Greg Abbott and his administration are facing accusations of human rights violations thanks not only to his floating barriers but also because of Operation Lone Star, where a Texas State Trooper reported that migrants were denied water under the baking Texas heat and were forced back to the river even though some of them were wounded.

Despite this, however, the Texas Tribune reported that the governor remained defiant, and his office immediately appealed the ruling, stating that they were "prepared to take this fight all the way to the US Supreme Court."

"We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," Abbott added.

The federal government under the Biden administration sued the state of Texas over these floating barriers, arguing that they required federal authorization to install. Mexico also filed a diplomatic complaint regarding the barriers, while several civilian and migrant groups have also filed lawsuits.

Reagan-Appointed Judge Blasts Texas Over Floating Barriers

In his decision to install the barriers, Abbott invoked his "invasion" powers to deploy aggressive new tactic to deter immigration. However, Judge Ezra, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, blasted Abbott for his justification.

"Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its 'chosen means of waging war,'" the judge wrote in his decision. "Such a claim is breathtaking."

The judge also said these floating barriers, which includes large orange buoys and blade so that people would not climb over them, are "a threat to safety and relationships between the neighboring countries." He also called out Texas, writing that the state produced no "credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration."

Majority of Texas Floating Barriers Are in the Mexico Side

Greg Abbott installed the barriers to stop migrants from crossing over from Mexico, though it certainly has not stopped migrants from trying to cross, as Abbott and his allies have claimed. Migrants continue to risk life and limb to get to the US, with or without barriers, even though two deaths have already been attributed to them.

As for the barriers themselves, Mexico has already repeatedly complained about them to the US federal government, claiming that nearly 80% of the barrier was on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande. This was confirmed by a federal government survey, according to CBS News.

Texas only has until Friday to remove these barriers.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants to the bank of the Rio Grande - KSAT 12