2023-09-06 21:20:02
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Texas to move a large floating barrier to the banks of the Rio Grande (or Rio Grande) following protests by the U.S. and Mexican governments over the move. by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent migrants from crossing the southern border of the United States.
The decision by Texas District Judge David Ezra is likely to be appealed by the state, which for the past two years has aggressively pushed legal limits to stem the flow of migrants under a statewide mission known as Operation Lone Star. The judge said the state must move the barrier by September 15.
Dozens of bright orange buoys the size of wrecking balls have created a barrier of water longer than a football field on a stretch of the river that migrants often try to cross from Mexico. Texas has also installed barbed wire and steel fencing at the border, and empowered armed agents to detain migrants on trespassing charges.
The buoys deployed in July prompted swift legal action by the federal Justice Department, which accused Texas of erecting a barrier on the international boundary without permission. President Joe Biden’s administration also said the water barrier posed humanitarian and environmental problems. The barrier was an idea that the Trump administration considered in 2020 but never implemented.
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