A US appellate court ruled Thursday that Texas does not have to immediately remove its controversial buoys, installed by the state’s Republican governor on the river border with Mexico to deter migrant crossings.
The “administrative stay” temporarily halts a decision issued Wednesday by a federal judge in Texas, which gave the southern state until September 15 to move the barriers.
The administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, filed suit against Texas after it installed the floating barriers in July, arguing they violated federal law as well as treaties with Mexico.
Soon after Judge David Ezra issued his preliminary ruling on Wednesday, which also prohibited Texas authorities from building any new barriers, Texas filed its appeal.
“This fight ain’t over. It’s only just begun,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In his ruling, Ezra had said harm from the floating barriers are “immediate and ongoing,” citing “the tremendous strain on the U.S.-Mexican relationship,” as well as the “threat to human life and its impairment to free and safe navigation.”
