5th Circuit allows buoys to remain in Rio Grande while federal lawsuit continues

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas win late Thursday, allowing a floating barrier of buoys and circular saw blades to remain in the Rio Grande at least temporarily as the lawsuit progresses.

The appeals court, which has jurisdiction over federal lawsuits pending in Texas, gave no reason for overturning the ruling Wednesday by Senior U.S. Judge David Alan Ezra that the state had violated the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 when it placed the floating barriers in the international river near Eagle Pass.

Abbott had no immediate reaction to the 5th Circuit's decision, but has insisted that he has the constitutional authority to take measures necessary to secure Texas' border with Mexico. Border security hardliners have supported Abbott's aggressive approach to combatting unauthorized immigration and transnational drug trafficking.

More: Gov. Abbott: 'This ain't over' as state appeals ruling that buoys must be removed

Todd Bensman, senior national security fellow for the conservative Center for Immigration Studies, predicted Ezra's ruling would not stand and he said the final outcome of the U.S. Justice Department's lawsuit against Abbott and the state is not likely to come any time soon.

"Resolution, after all, will take months if not years of crossings in areas where the barrier would have stopped them," said Bensman, who has said the 1,000-foot string of buoys are an effective deterrent to unlawful migration in the area where its deployed.

The Rivers and Harbors Act puts the responsibility for approving the placement of barriers in a navigable U.S. waterway with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Abbott and the state did not seek that approval and its lawyers have insisted in court documents and during a hearing before Ezra last month that the buoys are not among the barriers defined in the Rivers and Harbors Act.

They also dispute the assertion that the segment of the Rio Grande that separates Texas from Mexico is not navigable.

Ezra has not yet set a trial date to determine whether Texas has the authority to place buoys in the Rio Grande. If Texas loses Round One of the lawsuit, Abbott has vowed to appeal "all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JohnnieMo.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Buoys can stay in Rio Grande pending lawsuit outcome, 5th Circuit says