Texas on Wednesday is expected to begin erecting more water buoy barriers to deter illegal immigration.
With the additional buoys anticipated to go up in locations that have seen high levels of illegal border crossings, state crews have been scouting out areas at Shelby Park along the Rio Grande, according to a NewsNation report. The Washington Examiner reached out to Gov. Greg Abbot’s (R-TX) office for comment.
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The news comes as the Lone Star State has been preparing for a surge of border crossings before President Joe Biden leaves the White House. His successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has criticized Biden’s relaxed immigration policies, promised to strengthen penalties for unlawful border crossings, and pledged to deport undocumented immigrants.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has also been holding joint exercises with the state’s National Guard in Eagle Pass to “send a clear message for anyone who is thinking about crossing or entering the city of Texas that we’re gonna make it very difficult,” per Lieutenant Chris Olivarez’s, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, comments to the outlet.
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The multi-agency effort comes as a part of Abbott’s massive border security endeavor called “Operation Lone Star.” Launched in 2021 as Texas’ response to the Biden administration’s relaxed border policies, Abbott has described the operation as an effort to “stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.” The operation has resulted in more than 526,600 illegal immigrant apprehensions and roughly 41,900 felony charges, according to a press release from the governor’s office earlier this month.
Water buoys have played an integral role in Operation Lone Star’s strategy to deter illegal border crossings. Abbott first began installing the floating marine barriers along a 1,000-foot stretch of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass in July 2023.
“We continue to look for ways and infrastructure to secure the border to prevent people from crossings between the ports of entry, because that’s still taking place and the river is very dangerous. Now, having this marine barrier in place in the middle of the river will deter unlawful crossings and prevent drownings and human smugglers from bringing people across the river into the country,” Olivarez, the DPS spokesman, said during a Fox News interview at the time.
Texas has seen repeated challenges to the marine barriers in court. Immediately after Abbott unrolled the measure last summer, the Biden administration sued the state in an effort to stop the border security policy.
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An Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the buoys in September 2023, though a higher court swiftly discarded the ruling, marking a victory for Abbott.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2024 handed Texas another win when it ruled the prior challenge from Biden’s Department of Justice had “offered no evidence that the barrier threatens safety.”