Federal judge rules Texas must reposition floating barriers in Rio Grande

A federal judge ordered Texas to reposition floating barriers placed in the middle of the Rio Grande, rebuking one of the more contentious elements of the governor. Greg Abbott's effort to deter illegal border crossings has been lauded by both the federal government and the State Department. Sign up for fact checker, our weekly survey of what's true, false, or in-between in politics. Judge David A. Ezra's preemptive injunction sided with the U.S. Justice Department, which filed a lawsuit in July claiming Texas had no authority to install a 1,000-foot-long segment of the spiked orange buoys in the river, an international waterway where the federal government has jurisdiction.

Ezra, a Reagan appointee, gave Texas until Sept. 15 to relocate the floating barrier to the U.S. side of the riverbank in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

s conduct irreparably harms the public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande, he wrote in the order, adding that Texas will be required to cover the cost of moving the barriers.

Abbott installed the barriers near Eagle Pass as part of his $4.4 billion state campaign to fortify the border with National Guard troops, concertina wire and other obstacles to illegal crossings. Texas officials said they plan to install floating barriers up and down the river, whose serpentine path spans about two-thirds the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The construction of the River canal is closely regulated and regulated by international treaties between the United States and Mexico over issues such as water rights and engineering projects that could affect the river's flow.

Texas didn't apply for federal approval to put obstacles in the middle of the river, an act that Abbott characterized as state sovereignty.

Last month, state officials moved the barriers closer to the U.S. side of the river after Mexican officials pointed out that most of the buoys had floated over to their side. Texas's placement of the barriers along the international boundary is a matter of public concern for the Mexican government.

It is not clear whether the nation has yet reached the limit of sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies.