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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Republican Governor Greg Abbott scored a significant win in his legal battle against the federal government on Wednesday after a district court ruled that the Biden administration's complaints should be dismissed as requested by the Texas governor.
As the number of migrants crossing the border has grown in recent months, conservatives like Abbott have pressured the president and his administration to do more to increase border security and stop people from coming into the country illegally.
The Texas governor sparked outrage and widespread criticism this summer when he installed a 1,000-foot barrier in the Rio Grande to stop migrants from crossing the river into the border city of Eagle Pass. The barrier, made up of a line of wrecking ball-size buoys with serrated discs between them, has been condemned by Texas Democrats and human rights groups, as well as Mexican authorities.
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The Department of Justice sued Texas and Abbott over the barriers under the Rivers and Harbors Act, which protects navigable waters, asking the governor to remove them. Abbott refused, saying that he was ready to take the issue up to the Supreme Court if needed.
On Wednesday, the United States District Court of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, considered Abbott's motion to dismiss the DOJ's complaints, siding with the governor.
Judge David Alan Ezra granted Abbott's motion that the Rivers and Harbors Act authorizes actions only against persons and corporations, "not against sovereign States like the Defendant State of Texas and its officials." Abbott had also stated in the motion that the section of the Rio Grande where the buoys are placed is not navigable and it does not represent an obstruction.
The state was represented by Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican. Wednesday's decision represents the first bit of good news for Abbott after a federal appeals court ruled against him last week, saying the barrier should be moved to the riverbank.
On December 1, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, considered a conservative court, agreed with the Biden administration that the barrier over the Rio Grande is dangerous.
"It considered the threat to navigation and federal government operations on the Rio Grande, as well as the potential threat to human life the floating barrier created," Judge Dana Douglas wrote in the opinion.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Abbott said the court's decision was "clearly wrong."
"The 5th Cir. Court of Appeals' denial of Texas' sovereign authority to secure the border with floating marine barriers is clearly wrong," he wrote. "AG Paxton & I will seek an immediate rehearing by the entire court. We'll go to SCOTUS if needed to protect Texas from Biden's open borders."
Newsweek contacted the Department of Justice and Abbott's office for comment by email on Thursday.
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