Houston Chronicle by Jeremy Wallace 8/4/2023
As Justice Department lawsuit seeks to remove the barrier immediately, judge says he will hold hearing Aug. 22 on the matter.The buoy barrier Gov. Greg Abbott has put in the Rio Grande isn’t going anywhere for at least the next month despite the Justice Department’s request that it be removed immediately.
A federal court has set a hearing for Aug. 22 to consider the Justice Department’s call for an injunction that would require Texas to remove the barrier within 10 days. That means the buoy system likely will remain in the water near Eagle Pass at least until Sept. 1.
The Justice Department is suing Abbott for placing the barrier in the river, saying the state violated the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, which requires permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put structures into any waterway. Texas did not seek a permit from that agency.
In July, Abbott announced he was deploying the 1,000-foot floating barrier as part of his effort to stop migrants from crossing the Rio Grande in the Eagle Pass area of the Texas border. International human rights groups have condemned the move as dangerous and increasing the risk of drowning, while Mexican officials are protesting the barrier is a violation of international treaties that govern the 1,200 miles of the river that make up the border between Texas and Mexico.
Two bodies of people who apparently drowned were found Wednesday in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, officials say, one of them stuck in the buoy barrier.
Abbott’s office quickly pushed back at people implying the buoy barrier caused one of those people to drown.
“To be clear, preliminary information points to the drowning occurring before the body was even near the barriers,” said Andrew Mahaleris, press secretary for Gov. Greg Abbott. “The Texas Department of Public Safety previously reported to Border Patrol the dead body floating upstream from the barriers in the Rio Grande.”
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/judge-won-t-force-texas-remove-rio-grande-barrier-18279372.php
