Texas suffers legal setback over buoy barrier lawsuit
Texas suffers legal setback in the buoy barrier lawsuit brought by the federal government. Learn all the details here!
- Texas buoy barrier lawsuit will go forward.
- Ken Paxton’s appeal was denied.
- What comes next?
A federal judge has rejected the Texas government’s request to dismiss the Biden administration’s lawsuit over buoys in the Rio Grande.
Texas insists it is defending itself against the «migrant invasion» but a judge has sided with the federal government.
The buoys sparked tensions with Mexico, which says they are in it’s territory.
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Texas buoy barrier lawsuit will go forward
Texas had a legal setback this Friday in its battle over the buoy barrier installed in the Rio Grande, on the southern border of the United States.
A federal judge rejected their request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by President Biden’s administration seeking to remove the barrier.
Federal Judge David Alan Ezra denied the request of Texas prosecutor Ken Paxton to dismiss the case brought by the White House last July.
Texas argued that it was forced to take action to «defend itself» from a «migrant invasion.»
Does Texas have the right to install these border obstacles?
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has accused the Democratic Biden administration of failing to protect the border, however the judge overseeing the case disagrees.
«Texas is a sovereign state, not a sovereign country,» the judge wrote in his opinion in which he sided with the federal government that the buoys are not permitted under the U.S. Rivers and Harbor Act.
The decision represents a victory for the Biden administration, which sued the state of Texas for installing the buoys in the Eagle Pass sector last July.
It was part of Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, according to EFE.
Why was the appeal rejected?
On the flip side, the judge also rejected the U.S. Department of Justice claim that the buoys violate the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848.
This prohibits construction that could impede navigation on the Rio Grande.
Ezra ruled that the treaty «fails to state what measures should be taken upon a violation.»
Texas still has several legal avenues to pursue in the case and could even take the fight to the United States Supreme Court.
Will there be more hearings?
Next month the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals scheduled a hearing to hear the case. Judge Ezra will hear the case again in August.
The Mexican government has asked the U.S. to remove the buoys on several occasions.
They say that most of the buoys were in Mexican territory, according to EFE.
The International Boundary and Water Commission, a binational entity, corroborated this in a report presented to Judge Ezra that concludes that the vast majority of the buoys are on the Mexican side.