Texas ordered to remove border buoys from the Rio Grande

• Court orders Texas to remove border buoys.
• Greg Abbott has been criticized for this inhumane measure.
• The buoys are hazardous.

In a decision that marks a setback for Texas Governor Greg Abbott, he has been ordered to remove the border buoys that he installed in an effort to prevent immigrants from crossing the Rio Grande.

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday, December 1, that the state must remove a 300-yard floating barrier installed in the Rio Grande.

The measure, implemented in July to deter migrants from entering the country illegally from Mexico, has been considered a violation of federal laws that regulate navigation.

The order from the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals represents a victory for President Biden’s administration.

Bad news for Greg Abbott

The US government has argued that the barrier illegally impedes navigation and raises humanitarian concerns.

In a split 2-1 decision, the court rejected Texas’ request to reverse a federal judge’s order requiring the removal of buoys placed near Eagle Pass in Texas.

«The district court’s conclusions were not clearly erroneous,» wrote Judge Dana M. Douglas.

Separately, Governor Abbott’s office and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Court orders Texas to remove border buoys

Governor Abbott had previously said that Texas was prepared to take this fight “all the way to the United States Supreme Court.”

The court’s decision comes amid a long-running battle between Abbott and the Biden administration over a 300-yard floating barrier near Eagle Pass.

The 5th Circuit based its decision on the consideration that the shallow waters where the buoys were installed are navigable.

This implies that Texas would need to obtain permission from the United States Army Corps of Engineers before installing this type of barrier.

The Biden administration is victorious

“The evidence supports the federal judge’s conclusion that the floating barrier is an obstruction to the navigable capacity of the Rio Grande, and we find no clear error therein,” the ruling says.

This decision supports the decision of federal judge, David Ezra, regarding Governor Abbott’s actions.

The ruling also supports the claim of the Biden administration, which has maintained from the beginning that the barrier contravenes the country’s environmental laws.

The controversy began when the administration filed a lawsuit against Texas in July, urging the barrier’s removal.

The border buoys are a threat to human life

The appeals court had previously issued a temporary stay of a judge’s order in September.

That order required Governor Greg Abbott to remove the barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande after determining that it posed a threat to human life.

Furthermore, «the impairment of free and safe navigation» was overstepping the state’s jurisdiction.

In a civil lawsuit this year, the Justice Department said Abbott violated a federal law, which prohibits creating any obstruction to the navigability of the nation’s waters.

What does Greg Abbott say?

Texas lawyers had argued that the U.S. Constitution gave the state the power to “repel invasions,” including the illegal entry of thousands of immigrants.

The Biden administration has faced criticism from Texas and other Republican-led states over its immigration and border policies.

On October 6, the administration said it would add sections to a border wall to prevent migrant crossings from Mexico, according to NBC News.

This reverses one of former president Donald Trump’s policies.