TEXAS, USA — Texas will have to remove its floating buoys from the Rio Grande, which were meant to deter migrants from illegally crossing the border.
The New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's ruling Friday after the State appealed the September ruling.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court agreed with the U.S. Justice Department that the buoys violated an 1899 federal ban on construction in a navigable river, which means Texas needed permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before putting the floating barriers up.
According to The Texas Tribune, Judge Don Willett, a President Donald Trump appointee, was the dissenting vote in the ruling, arguing that the Rio Grande cannot accommodate commercial boat traffic and is therefore not navigable.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying Texas will go all the way to the Supreme Court "if needed to protect Texas from Biden's open borders."
In July, a business owner in Eagle Pass sued Abbott, accusing the governor of misapplying the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 to justify the buoy system.
The "floating barrier" operation was part of the state's plan to deter migrants from crossing the river after Maverick County saw an increase in illegal crossings. The first 1,000 feet of buoys were placed near Eagle Pass but could be moved if needed. The move to place buoys also came after a Texas National Guard soldier drowned near Eagle Pass last year trying to rescue migrants in the river.