Texas river border buoys to stay in place while 5th Circuit rehears case
The case will now be reheard by the entire court in May.
A floating barrier in the Rio Grande erected by Texas to deter migrants will remain in place for now as an appeals court reconsiders earlier court rulings declaring the barrier illegal.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday that it will rehear the case over Texas’s decision to implement a series of buoys on its river border with Mexico.
A federal district judge had ordered the state in September to remove the controversial barrier, and a panel of the 5th Circuit Court upheld that in a 2-1 decision last month.
Days after the court ruled against Texas, the state asked for an en banc hearing, in which all the appellate court’s judges, not just the three-judge panel, reconsiders the case. En banc consideration is rare and less than 1 percent of the cases decided by the court are reheard.
The 5th Circuit on Wednesday granted Texas’ request, and the case will be reheard by the entire court in May. The decision by the 5th Circuit, considered the most conservative appeals court in the country, also vacates the previous opinion, meaning the river border buoys will stay in place while the litigation continues.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott first deployed the 1,000-foot barrier in early July and later claimed that it had deterred thousands of people from crossing. The Department of Justice sued the state, arguing that it obstructed U.S. waterways in violation of federal environmental law.
The placement of the buoys has sparked criticism from the state’s Democratic lawmakers and human rights advocates, who argue that it threatens the lives of migrants crossing the river to seek asylum. Texas state troopers found a dead body lodged in the buoys in early August.
