Federal Judge Orders Texas To Take Down Floating Barriers In The Rio Grande

The buoys were placed in an attempt to block immigrants from crossing into U.S. territory.

On Wednesday, a federal judge made an official decision on a hot topic in Texas.

Judge David Ezra has ordered the state to take down barriers that are floating in the Rio Grande. The buoys were placed in an attempt to block immigrants from crossing into U.S. territory.

In July the Justice Department sued the state of Texas for installing them claiming they were established without approval from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lawsuit also claimed that Texas violated the ‘Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act’ that protects navigable waters in the development of harbors and other construction and excavation.

Texas refused to remove the barriers but now Judge Ezra’s order forces the state to take down them down by September 15th. The order also bans the state from building new or placing additional buoys in the Rio Grande from here on out.