Greg Abbott Says 'Buoys Remain in River' Despite Supreme Court Blow

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to leave controversial buoys in the Rio Grande after the Supreme Court blocked a new state law targeting suspected illegal migrants from taking effect on Monday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott said the buoys would stay in the river, the building of a wall would continue and the Texas National Guard would erect razor wire barriers along the Texas-Mexico border.

The Context

Tensions have surged between Texan and federal authorities over how to respond to a surge in irregular migration across the southern border in recent months.

On January 22 the Supreme Court ruled federal agents could remove razor wire placed along the border on Abbott's orders. This sparked a furious response from Abbott who claimed his state was being subject to an "invasion" and invoked "Texas's constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."

Irregular immigration has become a red hot political issue with Donald Trump, with the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee making a crackdown a key component of his bid for a second White House term.

What We Know

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott referenced Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), the Texas legislation blocked from taking effect by the Supreme Court.

He said: "SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the United States] temporarily halted enforcement of SB 4 but Texas is still using its authority to arrest illegal immigrants for criminal trespass and other violations of law.

"We continue building the wall, use NG [National Guard] to erect razor wire barriers to repel migrants & buoys remain in river."

The buoys, which are interspaced with circular saw-like pieces of metal, were placed in the Rio Grande by Texan authorities in a bid to disrupt migrant crossings.

They were condemned by human rights campaigners and some Democrats, particularly after a body was found stuck in a line of the buoys according to a statement released by the Mexican Foreign Relations Department on August 2, 2023, with a second body reportedly recovered three miles upriver.

An Abbott spokesperson at the time told Newsweek that "false information that Texas' marine barriers caused any death are flat-out wrong."

Texas Senate Bill 4, which was approved by the state legislature in November, gave local and state law enforcement powers to arrest and deport migrants suspected of crossing into the Lone Star State illegally. However critics argued it was unconstitutional because immigration control is typically treated as a federal issue.

The buoys have been the subject of a sustained legal battle. In January a federal appeals court reversed an earlier ruling ordering they be removed following a petition filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Views

Abbott's border policies have sparked sharp criticism and praise largely divided along party lines.

Texas House Democrat Joaquin Castro, speaking to Spectrum News in February, said: "It dehumanizes these immigrants, takes away their humanity, so that it inspires people or incites people to basically treat them like animals, and the effect of that is contained not only to the migrant community, but spills over to the Latino community and to others."

In a post on X, Texas House Republican Pete Sessions blamed the Biden administration for the current situation posting: "Biden's lack of enforcement on our southern border has created a humanitarian, crime, and drug crisis.

"States cannot stand by and let their communities be ravaged. Texas should have every right to defend itself and its citizens by making illegal immigration a state crime."