WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Reuters) – The controversial floating buoys on the Rio Grande (or Bravo) on the United States-Mexico border are attracting media attention today after a Texas judge ordered them removed before September 15.
The decision on the water wall, part of Texas Gov. Greg Abott’s actions as part of his Operation Lone Star, supported a lawsuit filed by President Joe Biden’s administration, in which he argued that state had failed to do so Right to construct structures on federal waterways.
“Governor Abbott announced that he did not obtain ‘approval’ for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas built the floating barrier,” wrote US District Judge David Alan Ezra.
However, “the permit is exactly what federal law requires prior to the erection of obstructions in the country’s navigable waters,” the judge said.
However, Abbott has already indicated that the state plans to appeal this provision and that it will continue to use other “strategic obstacles.”
Judge Ezra also referred to Mexico’s formal diplomatic grievances on the issue in his decision.
The 1,000-foot-long line of plastic buoys is designed to prevent entry of undocumented migrants across the southern border and is “a death trap,” migrant advocacy groups have warned.
Abbott reiterated that Texas would continue to stage other violent demonstrations at the border, but criticized Biden for lax policies on the matter.
“Texas is rightly taking a step forward to do the job that (Biden) should have done all along,” the Republican governor said, saying the ruling was wrong “and will be overturned on appeal.
