Greg Abbott installs Texas border river buoy wall despite lawsuit

AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is moving forward with the installation of a $1 million wall of floating buoys on the U.S.-Mexico border despite newly filed legal action that targeted the operation.

Video shared by a Texas Department of Public Safety official this week revealed that construction workers in Eagle Pass, Texas, are in the process of connecting a series of large floating red buoys that look like oversized balls. The state has referred to this new deterrence system as a "marine barrier."

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"The State of #Texas is taking historic action under Gov. [Abbott's] Operation Lone Star to secure the border. Installation of the marine barrier began today in #EaglePass. The marine barrier will deter unlawful crossings & human smuggling, & prevent the loss of life due to drownings. #MarineBarrier," Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez tweeted Monday afternoon.

Workers unloaded the buoys from trucks and placed them on the riverbank, then moved them into the water and onto the line one by one — a tedious process for the barrier that will stretch 1,000 feet.

The state appears to be undeterred in its work to make the border river tougher for immigrants to get across despite an Eagle Pass-based business suing Abbott last Friday.

Epi's Canoe & Kayak Team owner Jesse Fuentes sued Abbott over the buoys on the basis that he would be "unable to conduct tours and canoe and kayak sessions in Eagle Pass because of the installation of the buoys" and will sustain "imminent and irreparable harm."

The lawsuit argued that Abbott's use of the Texas Disaster Act was unfounded.

"We will see you in court," Abbott tweeted July 7. "And don't think the Travis Co. Court will be the end of it. This is going to the Supreme Court. Texas has a constitutional right to secure our border."

Abbott announced the measure on June 8 and said it would serve as another layer of border security and deter immigrants from crossing in certain areas and funnel people who do cross to other parts of the river where federal and state officials can apprehend them.

"When we're dealing with 100 or 1,000 people, one of the goals is to slow down and deter as many of them as possible," Abbott said on June 8. "Some may eventually get to the border where they are going to face that multilayered razor wire and a full force of National Guard and DPS officers."

Locals told the Washington Examiner in June that they were optimistic about the idea of a maritime barrier but worried the measure was already too little too late.

The project is expected to cost $1 million — a cost the state has fronted despite border security being the responsibility of the federal government.

Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters during a press conference on June 8 that the buoys are being placed in an area of the river where currents are most dangerous.

The installation may be expanded if it proves successful at deterring illegal crossings, according to the Abbott administration.

This south-central region of Texas is referred to by the Border Patrol as the Del Rio sector. In May, Border Patrol agents made 26,000 arrests of illegal immigrants, according to public data.

George Antuna, chairman of the Hispanic Republicans of Texas PAC and former Eagle Pass city manager, said residents "can't blame the governor for trying to protect our borders."

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Eagle Pass Fire Department Chief Manuel Mello III shared with the Washington Examiner that he was worried the buoy system could itself complicate rescue efforts and potentially cause immigrants to get trapped.

The buoys will sit 4 feet above the water and have netting on their undersides that could be anchored to the river floor. McGraw said DPS tested out whether it was possible to swim under the buoys, climb over them, or go between them and that it would take "great effort" to do so.