One year after Texas installed marine barriers in the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, and one week before the district court’s scheduled trial, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Texas has the legal right to use the barriers.
Appeals judges voted 9-7 to reverse a district court’s preliminary injunction that had kept state from using buoys to stop illegal immigration.
The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is also a reversal of an earlier ruling from a panel of Fifth Circuit judges, which affirmed the district court’s injunction initially. However, following that the appeals court decided the full court would re-hear the case en banc and halted the district court’s stay as it reviewed the case.
Circuit Judge Don Willett wrote the majority opinion.
Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement following the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit allowing Texas to maintain its floating marine barriers in the Rio Grande River.
“The Fifth Circuit last night delivered a victory for Texas’ historic border security mission by ruling that our floating marine barriers can stay in the Rio Grande River. Last year, Texas installed these barriers to deny dangerous and illegal river crossings, and almost immediately, the Biden-Harris Administration sued to remove them and obstruct our efforts to secure our border. We fought to keep these barriers in the water, and with the Fifth Circuit’s decision, that is exactly where they will remain. This fight is far from over. Texas will continue to defend our constitutional right to secure our southern border to keep our state and the nation safe.”