EAGLE PASS, TX — Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) is due to be at the Texas-Mexico border Tuesday, joining Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), State Senator Roland Gutierrez (TX-19), Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), and Congressman Tony Cardenas (CA-29). Sen. Gutierrez said he and his leftist cabal will “take a closer look at the deadly razor wire and buoy traps installed by [Gov.] Greg Abbott”
Abbott ordered the installation of the buoys two months ago as part of what is called a “floating river barrier” to discourage migrants from swimming across the Rio Grande illegally. The first 1,000 feet of the chain of buoys that reportedly cost $1 million were deployed near Eagle Pass. The manufacturer is Cochrane Global. In addition to the chain of buoys, Abbott ordered the installation of razor wire.
Gutierrez called the buoys “buoy traps” that accompanied “deadly razor wire.”
Residents of Eagle Pass are turning against the buoy/razor wire deployment:
“For Abbott, this isn’t about border security, it’s about maximizing the cruelty. These death traps do not stop migration and they do not keep Texans safe,” said Gutierrez. “We deserve to see what this Governor has spent $4.5 billion of our tax dollars on. I’m going to go down there and find out, so that we can fight against it.”
In 2020, the Customs and Border Patrol floated the idea of a buoy barrier during the Trump Administration except the Trump version had black spikes on the buoys. Here's a tweet from 2020 explaining the idea:
Gutierrez said is confab will be joined by local elected officials and “community stakeholders.” The group will meet the press at the International Center for Trade in Eagle Pass at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023.
The buoys are part of the State-financed Operation Lone Star intended to stem the influx of illegal immigration into Texas. The State has spent $10 billion so far patrolling the Texas-Mexico border. In July Biden’s Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Abbott for not ceding to federal requests to remove the razor wire and buoy barrier. The Mexican government complained that the buoy barrier is a violation of a 1944 water treaty between the two countries.
Eagle Pass is a magnet for national political agendas. Last month, Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis visited the border town to offer his ideas about how to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
Local borderland politicians we talked to said that the problem rests with both parties. There are ways to secure the border but neither party wants to find a solution that works.
Sen. Gutierrez, a Democrat, announced earlier this year that he is running against U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican. Here is Gutierrez talking about the Uvalde school shooting and his bid to take on Cruz in June:
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