By Editor-June 9th, 2023.
Texas authorities will soon begin laying down chains of specially designed buoy at the midline of the Rio Grande to deter migrants from crossing illegally from the Mexixan side of the river, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday.
Such laws are considered controversial in the United States, where traditionally border security has been considered a responsibility of the Federal Government, not of the individual states that border foreign other countries such as Mexico and Canada.
Abbott broke the news at a ceremony at the Capitol, where he signed six bills related to border security, including legislation that gives more power to federal agents to arrest and search migrants suspected of committing state crimes, authorizes the use of drones for border surveillance and provides compensation to farmers and ranchers whose land is damaged by migrants.
The governor, who regularly accuses the Democratic Biden administration of not doing enough to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, said the buoys would supplement other measures the state is taking, including the deployment of National Guard troops and the installation of concertina wire.
“We’re securing the border at the border,” Abbott said. “What these buoys will allow us to do is prevent people from getting to the border.”
Steve McCraw, director of the state’s Department of Public Safety, said the first 1,000 feet of buoys are being deployed near Eagle Pass because of an uptick in illegal crossings in the Maverick County area. He said the buoys, which can be moved to other locations as needed, are intended to deter migrants from attempting to cross the river, which is deep and fast-flowing in spots.
“Nobody needs to come between the ports of entry. It’s dangerous,” McCraw said. “Family units who come across … are risking themselves and their family members.”
A Texas National Guard soldier from Arlington drowned last year in Eagle Pass while attempting to rescue migrants in the river.
David Donatti, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said in a statement to HuffPost that the buoys will not address anything real.
“The chain of buoys along the Rio Grande is just the latest in a chain of gifts from the state to private contractors to fuel the governor’s manufactured crisis at the border,” he said. “The floating balls will not address the real and important reasons people are coming to the United States. The buoys are a blight on Texas’s moral
During the regular legislative session that ended in May, the Legislature approved $5.5 billion for border security measures. The other three bills Abbott signed Thursday allow Texas to more easily establish border security partnerships with other states, improve training of local police officers and designate Mexican drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” under state law.
Sources: Texas Tribune, Huffington Post, https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-signs-sweeping-package-of-border-security-legislation
