A US federal judge has ruled Texas can't have a floating barrier on the Rio Grande without permission from the federal government, but the state intends to appeal..Judge David Alan Ezra of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, issued a preliminary injunction ordering Texas to remove a 1,000-ft. barrier of buoys along the Rio Grande River by September 15. .Texas deployed the buoys at a shallow part of the river in July..They were placed at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott to curb an increase of illegal entries along the southern border. The US Department of Justice argued the buoys were installed violating the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act because they were placed without permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers.."Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters," wrote Judge Ezra, who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan..Ezra rejected the Texas claim it was stopping a Mexican invasion.."[C]ourts of appeals have uniformly declined to consider whether and when an 'invasion' occurs because of illegal immigration, as it 'involves matters of foreign policy and defence,' which the Constitution specifically commits to the federal government," Ezra explained.."Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its 'chosen means of waging war.' Such a claim is breathtaking.”.Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the US Department of Justice issued a statement in support of the verdict.."We are pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande," wrote Gupta..In a statement, the Texas Office of the Governor said the decision "merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along."."This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal.".The governor’s office even doubled down on its approach..“We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," the governor's office stated.."Our battle to defend Texas' sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the US Supreme Court.".In the first ten months of fiscal 2022/23, US Customs and Border Protection reported nearly two million encounters with illegal immigrants at the southwest border. .Preliminary data suggested August broke migrant crossing records. There were reportedly 177,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, an increase from 132,652 in July and 99,539 in June. US Border Patrol arrested at least 91,000 migrants who entered the country as part of a family group in August. .The US Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in June against Texas and Louisiana in lawsuits against the Biden administration. The states opposed 2021 immigration guidelines from the US Department of Homeland Security that curbed the extent to which detention could be used on illegal immigrants..Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion.."The States have not cited any precedent, history or tradition of courts ordering the Executive Branch to change its arrest or prosecution policies so that the Executive Branch makes more arrests or initiates more prosecutions. On the contrary, this Court has previously ruled that a plaintiff lacks standing to bring such a suit,” stated Kavanaugh..In August, Maverick County attorney Jaime Iracheta told Good Morning America that residents had streams of people on their properties..“Every single day, from our small property owners to our large property owners, they can’t live anymore. We’ve had literally 200-plus people a night going through someone’s front yard.
A US federal judge has ruled Texas can't have a floating barrier on the Rio Grande without permission from the federal government, but the state intends to appeal..Judge David Alan Ezra of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, issued a preliminary injunction ordering Texas to remove a 1,000-ft. barrier of buoys along the Rio Grande River by September 15. .Texas deployed the buoys at a shallow part of the river in July..They were placed at the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott to curb an increase of illegal entries along the southern border. The US Department of Justice argued the buoys were installed violating the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act because they were placed without permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers.."Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters," wrote Judge Ezra, who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan..Ezra rejected the Texas claim it was stopping a Mexican invasion.."[C]ourts of appeals have uniformly declined to consider whether and when an 'invasion' occurs because of illegal immigration, as it 'involves matters of foreign policy and defence,' which the Constitution specifically commits to the federal government," Ezra explained.."Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its 'chosen means of waging war.' Such a claim is breathtaking.”.Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the US Department of Justice issued a statement in support of the verdict.."We are pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande," wrote Gupta..In a statement, the Texas Office of the Governor said the decision "merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along."."This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal.".The governor’s office even doubled down on its approach..“We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," the governor's office stated.."Our battle to defend Texas' sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the US Supreme Court.".In the first ten months of fiscal 2022/23, US Customs and Border Protection reported nearly two million encounters with illegal immigrants at the southwest border. .Preliminary data suggested August broke migrant crossing records. There were reportedly 177,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, an increase from 132,652 in July and 99,539 in June. US Border Patrol arrested at least 91,000 migrants who entered the country as part of a family group in August. .The US Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in June against Texas and Louisiana in lawsuits against the Biden administration. The states opposed 2021 immigration guidelines from the US Department of Homeland Security that curbed the extent to which detention could be used on illegal immigrants..Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion.."The States have not cited any precedent, history or tradition of courts ordering the Executive Branch to change its arrest or prosecution policies so that the Executive Branch makes more arrests or initiates more prosecutions. On the contrary, this Court has previously ruled that a plaintiff lacks standing to bring such a suit,” stated Kavanaugh..In August, Maverick County attorney Jaime Iracheta told Good Morning America that residents had streams of people on their properties..“Every single day, from our small property owners to our large property owners, they can’t live anymore. We’ve had literally 200-plus people a night going through someone’s front yard.
