EAGLE PASS, TX — The 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed an injunction regarding the border buoys case in Eagle Pass, Texas, as announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The decision permits Texas to maintain the buoys in the Rio Grande to deter illegal crossings at the Texas-Mexico border.
Last year, a federal judge issued the injunction, which was later affirmed by a three-judge panel. This recent ruling focuses solely on the injunction, leaving the broader case ongoing.
Prior to the injunction, Texas had deployed dozens of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys, forming a water barrier longer than a soccer field along a frequently crossed stretch of the river. Additionally, the state installed razor wire and steel fencing along the border and empowered armed officers to arrest migrants on trespassing charges.
Attorney General Paxton expressed approval of the ruling on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday night.
The buoys, which were deployed in July 2023, prompted a legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department. The federal government argued that Texas had placed a barrier on the international boundary without authorization and raised concerns about the humanitarian and environmental impacts of the water barrier.
The buoy barrier was installed near the border town of Eagle Pass, with anchors securing it in the riverbed. Eagle Pass is within a Border Patrol sector that has reported approximately 270,000 migrant encounters this fiscal year, making it the second-highest sector for crossings.
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