A federal judge ordered that a floating barrier at the Texas-Mexico border be removed. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is appealing the ruling, hoping to keep in place the buoys that run along the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass.
Texas installed the barriers at the border in July. The order by U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra demands their removal by Sept. 15.
The decision is being appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals by the state.
The governor wrote that the decision 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,”
He further said that the state’s “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.”
It's outrageous that Biden's border priority is suing Texas on behalf of illegal aliens.
This border crisis is by design. https://t.co/g46ASchJmc
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) September 6, 2023
Abbott’s effort came as Texas and other border states have faced a significant increase in migrants crossing into the United States since the Biden administration announced that it would end the Title 42 asylum policy instituted under former President Donald Trump.
The order comes after a barrier created out of shipping containers was ordered dismantled by new Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). The Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) created the barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border during his term, using 2,000 shipping containers.
The barrier was intended to be temporary until the federal government created a more permanent structure. The effort was criticized by the Biden administration, which saw Arizona and the federal government argue in court regarding who had the ability to police the southern border.
The effort resulted in the halt of the wall’s construction in December of last year, then a dismantling after Hobbs became governor in January.
“Governor Hobbs has said from the start that these shipping containers are an expensive political stunt that did nothing to address the real issues at the border,” said the governor’s office.
Currently, the containers are being sold off by the state government.
