Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced on Thursday that the state will deploy “marine floating barriers” to deter migrants along the Rio Grande River.
During a press conference, Abbott stated that these buoys, which can be placed continuously for miles, will serve as a new water-based barrier. The aim is to secure the border at the border itself and prevent individuals from even reaching the border.
The governor’s office stated that Texas will install “marine floating barriers to deter illegal crossings in hotspots” along the river, with immediate installation starting soon. The initial 1,000 feet of the barrier will be set up near Eagle Pass, an area identified as a center for smuggling.
According to Abbott’s office, this strategy will proactively hinder illegal crossings by making it more challenging to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border.
Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, mentioned during the press conference that there will be additional “webbing” beneath the buoys to discourage swimming below them.
Abbott also signed six bills related to border security, which include expanding the authority of certain U.S. Border Patrol agents and coordinating an interstate compact for border security among interested states without congressional approval.
The governor has reached out to other governors for assistance with Texas’s border security efforts, invoking the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a national mutual aid agreement. He recently briefed a group of governors about the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Additionally, Abbott has joined other Republican governors in transporting thousands of migrants to Democrat-led cities as a form of protest against the border situation. Last month, he tweeted that Texas alone had sent over 18,500 migrants to these “sanctuary cities.”