Judge orders Texas to remove border buoys from Rio Grande
AUSTIN (CBSNewsTexas.com) - A federal judge ordered Texas to remove the border buoys in Eagle Pass on Wednesday.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra's ruling means Texas has to move the 1,000-foot floating barrier to the bank of the Rio Grande.
The Justice Department's lawsuit alleged installing the buoys violated a law known as the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act.
The law requires a permit to build structures in U.S. waters that are "navigable," or able to be traversed by boat. The DOJ said Texas did not seek approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before installing the buoys, which would have allowed the federal government to assess whether they posed any potential environmental and safety risks.
Ezra said the floating barriers were installed without authorization of any kind, "save the Governor's directive."
Governor Greg Abbott said he was not "asking for permission" for Operation Lone Star. Abbott has insisted he has "sovereign authority" over the southern border.
Unfortunately, Ezra said, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters.
Abbott and other Texas officials also said the floating barriers are designed to discourage migrants from attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully and prevent illegal drugs from entering the country.
In its ruling, the court said while it is "sympathetic with the aim of curtailing illegal immigration and illegal importation of drugs" the vast majority of illegal drugs that enter Texas, "and indeed the United States in general," do not come through the portion of the Rio Grande border in question, but rather "through ports of entry by using covert means and not through this stretch of the Rio Grande River."
Ezra's ruling also prohibits the state from setting up similar structures in the middle of the Rio Grande.
The judge said the buoys are to be removed at Texas' expense by Sept. 15.
Ezra's decision will be appealed by the state, Abbott's office said in a statement, adding "Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the Supreme Court."
