UPDATE: Appeals Court Rules on Texas Floating Border Barriers

As WLTReport reported, a federal judge in the Western district of Texas ordered the state remove sections of a floating border barrier that was put into place in July.

Texas Judge Orders State To Remove Floating Border Barriers, Abbott Appeals

The border buoys in the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, Texas must be removed by the 15th of September, as demanded by the judge.

Governor Greg Abbott announced he would appeal the ruling.

100 Percent Fed Up noted:

U.S. District Judge David Ezra issued a preliminary injunction for the state of Texas to remove all 1,000 feet of river buoy barriers at Eagle Pass.

Texas reportedly has until September 15th to comply with the order.

“In a legal win for the Biden admin DOJ, a federal judge has issued an injunction against the state of Texas, ordering it to remove all 1,000 feet of river buoy barriers in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, TX by September 15th,” Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reported.

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BREAKING: In a legal win for the Biden admin DOJ, a federal judge has issued an injunction against the state of Texas, ordering it to remove all 1,000 feet of river buoy barriers in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, TX by September 15th.
See ruling here: https://t.co/OQp1lFeGHu

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 6, 2023

AP reported:

Ezra also cast doubt on Texas’ rationale for the barrier, writing that the state produced no “credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration.”

The lawsuit was brought by the Justice Department in a rare instance of President Joe Biden’s administration going to court to challenge Texas’ border policies.

“Today’s court decision merely 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,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Gov. Abbott’s office said in a statement it’s “prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Texas will appeal. pic.twitter.com/jgeZ3Gt3OV

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 6, 2023

UPDATE

A federal appeals court Thursday put the judge’s order to remove the floating border barrier on hold.

NEW: Judge sides with State of Texas on motion to leave river buoy barriers in placehttps://t.co/OamUA8SclA

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) September 8, 2023

NBC News reports:

A federal appeals court Thursday put on hold a judge’s order from earlier this week requiring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to remove a floating barrier from the middle of the Rio Grande.

The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals allowed Abbott, a Republican, to leave in place for now the 1,000-foot barrier the state installed to deter illegal migrant crossings. The order was issued by a three-judge panel of two Democratic appointees and a Republican appointee.

Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David Ezra had ordered that the barrier moved out of the main waterway to the bank of the Rio Grande on the Texas side by Sept. 15, granting the Justice Department’s request for a preliminary injunction while the case is litigated.

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.

Lawyers for Texas have characterized illegal crossings at the southern border as an invasion that the state has a right to defend against.