Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
the governor of Texas, greg abbottannounced Thursday that a “new water-based buoy barrier” will soon be installed on the Texas-Mexico border, after signing several laws related to the border security.
Abbott said in a statement that these laws, and the buoy barrier on the Rio Grande, will protect Texans and serve to prevent “the record level of illegal immigration, deadly weapons and drugs entering Texas from Mexico caused by the President’s refusal to Biden to secure the border.”
The six-law package includes a measure that expands the authority of Border Patrol agents to search and arrest suspects for serious crimes established by Texas law at border checkpoints.
The Border Patrol is under the command of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security and among its tasks is to arrest suspects of crimes Serious attempting to enter the United States.
Another measure authorizes the Texas military to use drones to monitor the Texas-Mexico border.
Also Mexican drug cartels and criminal groups are designated as foreign terrorist organizations in the state of Texas, and increases state penalties for crimes committed by these groups.
The package of laws also allows the governor of Texas to coordinate and execute pacts with other states for border security without the approval of the United States Congress.
Abbott told a news conference that he has signed the laws “to ensure that Texas can continue to do even more to stop illegal immigration” and provide new tools “to protect Texans and Americans from the chaos and crisis at the border.”
Since President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2021, Abbott has accused the Democratic administration of “keeping the doors open at the border” and causing an “unprecedented” crisis.
Floating barrier on the Rio Grande
The Republican also announced this Thursday the installation of floating barriers to prevent illegal crossings at critical points along the Rio Grande border (Rio Grande in Mexico).
“These buoys will allow us to prevent people from reaching the border,” he said.
The first 1,000 feet of the floating barrier will be deployed near Eagle Pass in Maverick County.
One user commented on Twitter that he remembered seeing those floating sea barriers before, in a proposal to use them at the border:
I remember looking into Cochrane’s “Marine Floating Barrier” back in 2020 when the Border Patrol Academy’s Chief posted about a demonstration.
I guess their sales pitch went over better with Texas than the Border Patrol. Spikes not included, apparently. https://t.co/x5Qf7fyPcq
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) June 8, 2023
The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Col. Steven McCraw, said that the buoys can be deployed quickly and are mobile.
Abbott hopes the Texas Senate will pass another new package of laws on immigration and border security.
One of his main proposals, which sought to create a “mandatory jail sentence of at least 10 years for anyone caught smuggling illegal immigrants into Texas,” was defeated in the Texas House.
Latino organizations were quick to criticize the package of laws. Dani Marrero Hi, deputy director of La Unión del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), said today in a statement that Abbott preferred to invest state resources in financing “useless” operations on the border rather than addressing the state’s urgent infrastructure needs.
The activist also condemned the state leadership for not prioritizing the well-being of families and people at the border over political games and “made for TV” tactics.
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