The state of Texas was ordered to remove its floating barrier from the Rio Grande as the case brought by the federal government continues.
In a court order, Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra ordered that Texas remove the floating barrier and refrain from building any additional barriers pending his final judgment.
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“Defendants and anyone working on their behalf are enjoined and hereby prohibited from building new or placing additional buoys, blockades, or structures of any kind in the Rio Grande River pending final judgment in this matter,” Ezra wrote.
“Defendants shall, by September 15, 2023, reposition, at Defendants’ expense, and in coordination with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, all buoys, anchors, and other related materials composing the … floating barrier placed by Texas in the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas to the bank of the Rio Grande on the Texas side of the river,” he added.
Almost immediately after the announcement, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) announced he would appeal the decision, expressing a willingness to take the legal battle to the Supreme Court if need be.
“Texas will appeal. 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,” Abbott’s office said in a statement.
“This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers. Our battle to defend Texas’ sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden’s open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
As Republicans decried the decision, Democrats celebrated. Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who is running against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in 2024, applauded the decision to demand the dismantlement of the barrier. In praising the decision, the Texas Democrat sought to connect the policy directly to his Senate opponent.
“The cruel and inhumane border policies endorsed by Ted Cruz have killed children and separated families,” Gutierrez said in a statement.
“Today, the death buoys supported by Cruz were rejected by a federal judge. The Department of Justice’s ruling against Operation Lone Star is a necessary step towards justice, shedding light on inhumane and cruel practices that have no place in our society,”
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“Drowning women and children at the border isn’t a policy,” he added. “It is cruelty and insanity. The Department’s ruling is a step towards justice, but now we must see action. This whole stunt must end right now.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Cruz for comment.
