Most Texans favor buoys in the Rio Grande

A majority of Texas voters agree with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's immigration policies, including the implementation of buoys in the Rio Grande. A federal judge recently ordered Texas to remove the border buoys after the federal government sued the state, but the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily suspended the removal of the 1,000-foot barriers, allowing Governor Abbott to maintain the measure.

A study by The Texas Politics Project highlighted that a majority of citizens (52%) supported putting buoys and barbed wire on the Rio Grande to deter migration, while 40% opposed it. Among Republicans, 88% supported the policy, and 10% opposed it. Among Democrats, 18% were in favor and 74% were against.

According to the study, partisan opinions were less divided when asked about the overall policy of deploying additional state military and police resources to the border to address the immigration crisis. Sixty-four percent of all respondents supported the continued deployment of military and police resources by the state.

Migration is a threat to Texans

Meanwhile, migration was seen as an extremely serious threat by at least 37% of all voters. Other issues that Texans considered threatening were misinformation (45%) and a declining commitment to democracy (42%).

Finally, 68% of respondents said the country is on the wrong track, versus only 22% who say the country is going in the right direction. The poll was conducted from Aug. 18-29, with a sample of 1,200 self-declared registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.83%.