Voz media US Voz.us
Apple store Voz-media Play store Voz Media

Goodbye to Texas' border buoys: Federal judge orders removal from Rio Grande

Gov. Greg Abbott must remove the 1,000-foot barrier he installed on the river to stop migrants from entering by Sept. 15.

instalación de la barrera de boyas en Texas.

(Office of the Texas Governor)

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

The days of Texas border buoys are numbered. A federal judge in Austin on Wednesday ordered the removal of the 1,000-foot barrier in the Rio Grande to stop migrants from entering. The buoys, installed by order of Governor Greg Abbott, must be completely removed by Friday, Sept. 15.

It was U.S. District Judge David Ezra who made the decision to remove the barrier near Eagle Pass. In addition, he prohibited the governor from building any similar structure in the Rio Grande until legislation is passed on this matter. This was stated in the same in the 42-page document in which he ordered the removal of the buoys and which ruled in favor of the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice:

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

Abbott announces Texas will appeal ruling

According to U.S. District Judge Ezra in the ruling, Abbott did not have a valid reason for installing the barrier. In fact, he denied that, as Abbott claimed, Texas was being "invaded":

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." Such a claim is breathtaking.

The governor of Texas declared on X (formerly Twitter) that he will appeal the judge's decision. As he wrote in his post, this ruling only delays the inevitable and "prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along":

tracking