Federal appeals court reverses ordered removal of Texas’s floating barrier in Rio Grande

Federal appeals court reverses ordered removal of Texas’s floating barrier in Rio Grande

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday reversed an order requiring Texas to move a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that drew backlash from Mexico — the latest development in legal battles between the Biden administration and Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over control of migration at the border.

From the archives (September 2023): Judge orders Texas to move floating barrier used to deter migrants from middle of Rio Grande

Also see (August 2023): Texas’s buoys in Rio Grande have triggered Mexican government concerns, says State Department

In December, a divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with a federal district judge in Texas who said the buoys must be moved. On Wednesday, the court vacated the panel’s 2-1 ruling after a majority of its 17 active judges voted to rehear the case.

The series of linked, concrete-anchored buoys stretches roughly the length of three soccer fields. The state installed it along the international border with Mexico between the Texas border city of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

See: Texas’s border skirmish with the Biden administration: What you should know about Shelby Park and Eagle Pass

The barrier is one focal point in the legal disputes over border control between Democratic President Joe Biden and Abbott. The Biden administration also is fighting for the right to cut razor-wire fencing at the border and for access to a city park at the border that the state fenced off.

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