Texas will deploy a chain of buoys along the Rio Grande River next month in an effort to prevent migrants from illegally crossing the aquatic border that separates the U.S. from Mexico.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw said last week that the first 1,000-foot-long chain will be installed July 7 near Eagle Pass, Texas. The buoys are about six feet tall and have netting underneath to prevent people from swimming under.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott shared the plan during a bill-signing ceremony for multiple new pieces of legislation related to fortifying the U.S. southern border.
“We’re securing the border at the border,” Mr. Abbott said at the event Thursday. “What these buoys will allow us to do is prevent people from even getting to the border.”
The buoys are being put in place without input from officials in the Mexican city of Piedra Negras, which sits across the river from Eagle Pass, according to ABC News.
Mr. Abbott’s office said that the buoy barriers will be used at hot spots throughout the Rio Grande border, but didn’t specify other potential locations.
The marine barrier is the latest part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star.
The plan was launched to curb illegal immigration at the southern border and prevent criminals from gaining entry to the U.S.
The governor’s office said that more than 29,000 arrests and 26,000 felony charges have been reported since Operation Lone Star began in March 2021.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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