Texas should take away 1,000 ft of floating barrier alongside the Rio Grande meant to maintain migrants from illegally crossing close to Eagle Pass, a U.S. appeals courtroom dominated Friday.
The resolution got here because the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Lukeville, Arizona, southwest of Tucson, determined to shut its port of entry after being overwhelmed by migrants coming into the state.
The New Orleans-based fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 Texas resolution, wherein it upheld a federal choose’s ruling, was seen as a win for the Biden administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas in July, claiming the buoys positioned within the river block navigation, are unsafe and violate the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act, which requires approval by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for navigable waters.
BORDER PATROL IN TEXAS ARRESTS 21 SEX OFFENDERS IN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS
![buoys installed at the Rio Grande](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/1200/675/rio-grande-buoys.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
An appeals courtroom upheld a federal choose’s September ruling Friday that Texas should take away buoys put in on the Rio Grande close to Eagle Pass. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
In September, U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra ordered Texas to take away the limitations.
Texas Gov. Greg Abott known as Friday’s resolution “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 on X, previously Twitter. “AG Paxton & I will seek an immediate rehearing by the entire court.”
He added that they’d go to the U.S. Supreme Court if essential to “protect Texas from Biden’s open borders.”
Eagle Pass is a part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second-highest variety of migrant crossings this fiscal 12 months.
In Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection mentioned it’s “surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants” in Lukeville and can “continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”
ARIZONA LAWMAKER CALLS FOR NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO HANDLE TUCSON MIGRANT SURGE: ‘OVERRUN AND UNDERMANNED’
The momentary border closure is anticipated to start out on Monday so officers can course of migrants who’ve already crossed by way of the port of entry because it has change into a significant migration route in latest months.
![border wall near Lukeville, Arizona](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/12/1200/675/border-wall.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to briefly shut the more and more busy Lukeville, Arizona, port of entry. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
Most of the migrants stroll by way of gaps within the border wall within the space looking for asylum and smugglers are more and more leaving migrants from international locations together with China, India and Senegal within the space.
“The U.S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration,” CBP mentioned in an announcement earlier this week. “As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well. We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes such as CBP One.”
In October, 3,140 folks drove to the crossing and 184 pedestrians entered day-after-day, in response to the U.S. Transportation Department.
People can nonetheless cross by way of Nogales and San Luis, Arizona, three hours east and two hours west of Lukeville.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
On Monday, CBP additionally closed certainly one of two car bridges in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.