United States: how Texas defies Biden with its floating anti-migrant border

Orange buoys surrounded by sharp spurs and separated by steel discs cut into sawtooth shapes. The floating border installed last July by Texas to push back migrants on the Rio Grande, which separates it from Mexico, was to be removed this Friday, September 15 at the latest. This was ordered by a federal judge seized by the Biden administration on September 6.

But the relief was short-lived for its detractors: Texas won the decision on appeal the next day. The anti-migrant buoys can remain in place... while the legal proceedings come to an end. Greg Abbott had in any case warned that he would not give in: “I think we have the right to do it and we will go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.”

The floating wall crystallizes tensions between Democrats and Republicans in the United States. The device, deployed south of the town of Eagle Pass, is only 300 meters long. A detail on a border more than 3000 kilometers long, yet far from being anecdotal. In a few weeks this summer, he became the symbol of a standoff between the governor of this Republican state, Greg Abbott, and Democratic President Joe Biden over the country's migration policy.

This line of buoys anchored in the ground by concrete blocks, Texas installed it in July, a few weeks after the project was announced by the governor. This would involve pushing back migrants from Mexico into this very busy part of the river because it is shallow and less risky to cross. Acclaimed by supporters of a firm line against illegal immigration flooding the United States from Mexico, the floating border is immediately condemned by elected Democrats and humanitarian operators.

After an on-site visit, Democratic Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia shares images of the device and calls for an end to Greg Abbott's methods, which she considers “cruel and inhumane”.

The governor of Texas has been at open war with Joe Biden since his arrival at the White House in 2021. Denouncing the supposed laxity of the Democratic president in the fight against illegal immigration, Greg Abbott decided to take care of it himself , for the territory of Texas. Launched in 2021, Operation Lone Star involves the deployment of thousands of Texas Guard troops. national and the installation of physical anti-migrant devices.

The governor thus resurrected the promise of Donald Trump, who wanted to build a wall along the border with Mexico, by resuming work in Texas, partly with private donations. At Eagle Pass, on the shore near the floating barrier, a wall was erected between 2021 and 2022, and the banks of the Rio Grande on the American side were protected by miles of barbed wire.

Illegal immigration “is Biden’s fault, because he did not continue what President Trump had started,” he insisted in the summer of 2021, in front of an unfinished wall, accompanied by the former president . As a snub to Democrats who criticize his policies, Greg Abbott has also bused migrants into cities run by Democratic mayors.

Because it arouses the emotion of some Americans - it is no longer a simple wall but devices that can cause harm - and annoys the Mexican neighbor, the floating barrier crosses a threshold which pushes the Biden administration to take a position on the subject, officially requesting its withdrawal and threatening the State with legal action.

But Greg Abbott firmly refuses, accusing Joe Biden in a letter of failing to enforce the laws against illegal immigration, which would have reached “a record level” because of his policy. “If you truly value human life, you need to start enforcing federal immigration laws,” he wrote to her on July 24. By doing this, you can help me prevent migrants from risking their lives in the waters of the Rio Grande.”

In response, the Biden administration took him to court the same day. In its complaint, the government assures that Texas needed federal authorization to install the barrier, and cites navigation, humanitarian and diplomatic problems generated by the device. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador thanks his American counterpart for taking up the matter.

At the end of August, Greg Abbott was even forced to urgently reposition the buoys closer to the shore, after it was shown that 80% of them were floating in Mexican territory.

A federal judge in Austin, Texas, ruled in favor of the Biden administration on September 6 in a preliminary ruling, finding that the barrier constitutes a “threat to human lives”, prevents “safe and unhindered navigation” on the Rio Grande, and exceeds the prerogatives of the State. Additionally, the judge wrote, “the State of Texas has not presented tangible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly reduced illegal immigration” across the river.

The barrier therefore had to be removed from its location and brought back along the American shore by September 15. But Greg Abbott obtained the suspension of this measure on appeal the next day. The case has yet to be judged on its merits. Meanwhile, Texas intends to continue bunkering its border, against the advice of the federal government.