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By Sean O'Driscoll
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter
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Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to force the United States Coast Guard to testify about his anti-migrant barriers on the Rio Grande.
This is part of a long-running dispute between Abbott and the federal government over his attempts to stop people illegally crossing from Mexico into Texas.
On Wednesday, Abbott's lawyers submitted a proposed order to Federal Judge Dustin Howell seeking to compel Coast Guard Captain Justin Peters to give evidence.
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The U.S. government is suing Texas in federal court to have the floating barriers removed from the Rio Grande.
In a December 2023 federal appeal court filing, government lawyers explained that Peters has signed a declaration in which he said that Texas did not seek a permit to install the floating barriers on the Rio Grande between Texas and Mexico.
As no permit was sought, the Coast Guard has not been able to consider "the impact of the structure on the safety of navigation as well as the traditional and possible uses of the waterway including possible impact on future Coast Guard mission tasking," as well as "the location of the structure in relation to the navigable channel, navigational traffic patterns, difficulty of navigation in the vicinity of the structure, the nature of maritime activity in the vicinity of the structure, the nature of the structure, and the potential for the structure to move with tidal or weather conditions," according to Peters' declaration.
In the same court filing, government attorneys explained that in early June 2023, Abbott announced Texas's intent to deploy "marine floating barriers" to "make it more difficult to cross the Rio Grande and reach the Texas side of the southern border."
"On July 10, 2023, without authorization from the federal government, Texas began installing the floating barrier," the filing said.
"The floating barrier was deployed near Eagle Pass, Texas, with additional plans by Texas to deploy similar barriers at three different locations in the area."
"The floating barrier is roughly 1,000 feet long, made up of large four-foot orange buoys fastened together with heavy metal cables and anchored in place with concrete blocks placed systematically on the floor of the Rio Grande."
"The buoys are surrounded by 68 anchors weighing about 3,000 pounds each and 75 anchors weighing about 1,000 pounds each. Attached to about 500 feet of the floating barrier is a stainless-steel mesh 'anti-dive net extending two feet into the water," they explained.
On June 25, Howell agreed with Abbott that the evidence of an international border expert should not be permitted.
Adrian Cortez, who works for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), had provided testimony in the case, but his authority to do so was challenged by Abbott's legal team.
As part of Operation Lone Star, which Abbott launched in March 2021, Texas deployed thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and placed razor wire along the border. Simultaneously, large floating buoys, separated by circular saw-like sheets of metal, have been put in the Rio Grande in an attempt to stop river crossings.
In July 2023, the federal government filed a lawsuit requiring Texan authorities to remove the buoys, which it claimed obstructed a navigable waterway, thus violating the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899. This is being contested by the State of Texas, which insists the Rio Grande isn't navigable at the point where the buoys were installed.
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