A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can keep a floating wall it erected on the Rio Grande River to stop migrants from entering the state.
FiveNumber The 34th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned an earlier ruling, marking the latest development in the legal battle between Texas and the Biden administration over the treatment of the U.S.-Mexico border, The Associated Press reported.
In December, a panel of the same circuit court found that the state violated navigable waterways laws by installing buoy barriers on the river, saying they posed a threat to navigation and federal operations and could endanger human life, and ordered the barriers removed.
of Tuesday’s ruling The court said the United States “abuse[ed]its discretion by granting a preliminary injunction to the United States.” The court lifted the injunction, set aside the district court’s order granting the preliminary injunction, and ordered the lower court to “vacate the preliminary injunction and proceed further consistent with this opinion.”
The case is set to go on trial in District Court on August 6.
The Biden administration has accused Texas of violating federal river and port law, saying immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility.
The BUBA was first deployed last July as part of Operation Lone Star, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said was necessary because the federal government had not taken action at the border.
The buoy was placed in the water days after four migrants, including a baby, drowned while trying to cross the river, and authorities found a body floating near the buoy in August last year.
The concrete-linked buoys stretch 1,000 feet into the Rio Grande and are anchored to the ground underwater.
—The Associated Press contributed.
