Texas Wins Appeal to Keep Floating Barrier in Rio Grande to Deter Illegal Crossings

Thursday’s ruling means the state will be allowed to leave the barrier in place for now while the case plays out in court.

People walk between razor wire and a string of buoys placed on the water along the Rio Grande border with Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 16, 2023. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/Getty Images

A U.S. appeals court has temporarily put on hold an earlier order issued this week requiring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to remove a 1,000-foot barrier of floating buoys deployed in the Rio Grande as part of efforts to deter illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.–Mexico border.

The Sept. 7 decision was made by the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals—made up of a three-judge panel of two Democratic appointees and a Republican appointee—court documents (pdf) show.