Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the installment of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande next to Eagle Pass, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier.
Within weeks of the floating barrier’s deployment, the federal government implored Texas to remove the 1,000 foot line of buoys floating in the international waterway.
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Abbott repeatedly refused.
Scroll below to see how Texas’ confrontation with the federal government over the floating border barrier unfolded.
June 7, 2023 - Gov. Greg Abbott revealed plans for a floating river barrier at a Capitol signing ceremony for several new laws related to border security. The first 1,000-foot section will be deployed near Eagle Pass.
June 26, 2023 - Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena sent a diplomatic letter to the U.S. stating the floating barrier violates a 1944 water treaty, Reuters reported.
July 21, 2023 - The U.S. Justice Department threatened legal action against Gov. Greg Abbott over the 1,000-foot floating barrier, Texas Tribune reported.
“We write to inform you … that the United States intends to file legal action in relation to the State of Texas’s unlawful construction of a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River,” the Justice Department said in a letter sent to Abbott’s office. The department gave the state until 1 p.m. Central on July 24 to avoid legal action by responding with a promise to remove the barrier.
“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” said the letter, which was signed by Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim and Jaime Esparza, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas.
Abbott released a response on Twitter: “We will continue to deploy every strategy to protect Texans and Americans — and the migrants risking their lives,” he wrote. “We will see you in court, Mr. President.”
July 24, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Justice announced it is suing Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott after Texas declined to remove the floating barrier at the border, Texas Tribune reported.
The lawsuit alleges the barrier was installed without the necessary authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“Because Texas installed the Floating Barrier without seeking the Corps’ authorization, the Corps and other relevant federal agencies were deprived of the opportunity to evaluate risks the barrier poses to public safety and the environment, mitigate those risks as necessary through the permitting process, and otherwise evaluate whether the project is in the public interest,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also alleges that the floating barrier obstructs navigation on the river.
July 26, 2023 - The U.S. Justice Department sought a court order requiring Texas to remove its floating barrier on the Texas-Mexico border, Texas Tribune reported.
“Texas’s deployment of the Floating Barrier has caused significant and ongoing harm to the United States’ foreign relations with Mexico,” the filing said.
“Mexico has specifically asserted that Texas’s actions contravene various treaty obligations and has raised humanitarian concerns regarding possible loss of life to persons swimming in the Rio Grande,” the filing said.
Aug. 22, 2023 - U.S. Justice Department argued for removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in federal court.
The U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge that the barrier threatens U.S.-Mexico relations and was installed without appropriate federal authorization, Texas Tribune reported.
Sept. 6, 2023 - A federal judge ordered Texas to remove the floating border barrier.
Judge David Ezra granted the government’s motion for a preliminary injunction and ordered Texas to move the buoys currently in the Rio Grande river near Eagle Pass to the riverbank on the Texas side of the river by Sept. 15, KPRC 2′s Robert Arnold reported.
The judge also wrote Texas cannot construct any new buoys or structures in the river until there is a final ruling in this lawsuit.
View the order here.
Abbott’s office issued this statement in response: “Texas will appeal. Today’s court decision merely 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. This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. 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. Our battle to defend Texas’ sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden’s open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”