On Wednesday, a federal appeals court reversed an order requiring Texas to move a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that sparked outrage in Mexico, the latest development in a legal battle between the Biden administration and Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over border migration.
In December, a divided panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a federal district judge in Texas who said the buoys had to be moved. On Wednesday, the court reversed the panel’s 2-1 decision after a majority of its 17 active judges voted to rehear the case.
The series of linked, concrete-anchored buoys is roughly the length of three soccer fields. The state placed it between the Texas border city of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila.
The barrier is a focal point in Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s legal battle over border control. The Biden administration is also fighting for the right to cut razor-wire fencing at the border, as well as access to a city park fenced off by the state.