Floating buoys against migrants
Texas court orders removal of border barrier
09/07/2023 01:01 am
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The Republican governor of Texas wants to deter migrants with a chain of buoys in the border river Rio Grande. A lawsuit by the US government against the arbitrary measure has now been successful.
The US state of Texas is to remove a controversial floating barrier in the US-Mexico border river Rio Grande, according to a court order. A federal judge in the Texas city of Austin ordered the removal of the barrier by mid-September, as the television networks CBS and CNN unanimously reported.
The US government had filed a civil lawsuit against Texas for failing to obtain Washington approval for the barrier. In addition, this represents a threat to shipping and public safety, argued the US government. The administration of US President Joe Biden also emphasized that the number of illegal border crossings was the lowest in two years. Texas can appeal the court decision.
A few weeks ago, the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, arranged for the approximately 300-meter-long barrier made of numerous buoys, each more than one meter in diameter, to be placed in the river. Barbed wire was laid along the shore. According to Abbott, this should prevent migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande to get to the United States.
Body discovered on the buoys
The White House had sharply criticized the approach. Activists and Democrats called the action cruel. Mexico’s government, in turn, submitted two diplomatic protest notes – among other things because the barrier violates Mexico’s sovereignty, violates bilateral and international treaties and endangers the personal safety of migrants.
A dead person was discovered on the floating buoys in early August. The body got stuck on the south side of the buoys in the river, which is called Río Bravo in Mexico. The cause of death and nationality were initially unknown. The issue of migration is polarizing in the USA. Republicans have accused the Biden government of having an “open-door policy.”