Judge sides with Biden admin and orders Gov. Abbott to remove floating border barrier

 Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was dealt a blow in court on Wednesday when a judge sided with the Biden administration and ordered a floating border barrier to be temporarily removed.

Abbott had ordered the 1,000-foot line of buoys as a deterrent against illegal aliens seeking entry into the U.S. by wading or swimming across the Rio Grande. 

“Governor Abbott announced that he was not ‘asking for permission’ for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier," wrote federal District Judge David A. Ezra in his ruling.

"Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation’s navigable waters,” he added.

Illegal alien activists have called Abbott's efforts to end illegal immigration inhumane and unjust.

“The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, as millions of other immigrants have done for hundreds of years in this country,” said activist Carolina Canizales. 

Abbott's office immediately said that it would appeal the ruling.

“Today’s court decision merely prolongs President Biden’s willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along,” read a statement from Abbott. 

“We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," the statement added.

The U.S. Department of Justice had filed the lawsuit against Texas in July and argued that the governor had not obtained the necessary authorization for the barrier. The lawsuit also claims that the barrier threatens foreign relations with Mexico.

Ezra went on in his ruling to opine that the lawsuit would likely succeed on the basis that Texas needs a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in order to construct barriers in navigable water. He has ordered Abbott to remove the barriers by Sept. 15.

Here's more about the border buoy barrier ruling: