Court rules Texas can keep floating barrier on Rio Grande amid legal battle

A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas can keep its floating barrier on the Rio Grande meant to dissuade migrants from crossing into the state.

The 5^th The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned an earlier ruling, marking the latest back-and-forth in the legal fight between Texas and the Biden administration over the handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported.

In December, a panel from the same circuit concluded that the state violated laws governing waterways by placing the buoy barrier in the river. The panel said the barrier was a threat to navigation and the operation of the federal government and posed a potential threat to human life, ordering it removed.

O decision Tuesday said the court “abused its discretion in granting the United States an injunction.” The court dissolved the stay, reversed the district court’s order granting a preliminary injunction, telling the trial court to “void the injunction and proceed with proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

The trial in the case will begin in district court on August 6.

The Biden administration has accused Texas of violating the Federal Rivers and Harbors Act, saying immigration enforcement is the purview of the federal government.

The buoy barrier was first installed last July as part of Operation Lone Star, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said was necessary since the federal government was not taking action at the border.

The buoys were placed in the water just days after four migrants, including a child, drowned while trying to cross the river. Last August, authorities also found a body floating near the buoys.

The concrete buoys stretch 300 meters into the Rio Grande and are anchored in the ground underwater.

—The Associated Press contributed.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story