Amid rising concerns about immigration and border security, the state installed a 1,000-foot barrier in the Rio Grande in July to deter migrants.
In December 2023, the United States District Court of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, considered Abbott's motion to dismiss complaints issued in July 2023. That was when the Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit arguing that establishing the barrier in U.S. navigable water requires the approval of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which Abbott did not obtain before the buoys were placed in the water.
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. Newsweek contacted representatives for Abbott by email on Friday to comment on this story.