Survey: 79 Percent of Abbott’s Buoys in Mexico

A topographical survey of the floating buoy barrier system Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered to be placed in the Rio Grande River to deter immigrants from crossing the border illegally shows that 79% of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s barricade was placed in Mexican territory, according to newly released results.

The survey was conducted by the International Boundary and Water Commission last month and made public this week through a court filing in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Texas over the barrier, reports the New York Post.

The commission is a joint U.S.-Mexico body that determines international boundaries between the countries. The international boundary lies in the middle of the Rio Grande and dates back to a 1970 treaty.

Surveyors said that “approximately 208 feet of the buoy line (in the upstream portion of the buoy alignment) are located within the United States, whereas approximately 787 feet of the buoy line (in the downstream portion of the buoy alignment) are located within Mexico.”

Last month, the first 1,000-foot section of the bright orange buoys, which are four feet wide and spin when they’re grabbed, was put in place near Eagle Pass, Texas as part of Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star.”

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the line of buoys, designed by Cochrane USA, will cost $1 million.

The DOJ and the Mexican government are both pushing back against the barriers, which Abbott says will defend Texas from “the invasion of the Mexican drug cartels and others who have tried to come into our country illegally.”

The U.S. government says the buoys violate federal laws on navigable waterways and pose a humanitarian concern, while Mexico says the barrier is a violation of international treaties.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador earlier this month said the barricade is “inhumane” after the bodies of two people were found in the Rio Grande, including one who was reportedly caught in the barrier.

Texas authorities, however, said the immigrants drowned before they were near the barrier.

The results of the survey could bring a new angle to the Biden administration’s lawsuit, reported CBS News.

The lawsuit is asking that the U.S. district court in Austin require Texas to remove the buoy system and ban it from forming similar structures.

The DOJ said that officials in Mexico and the United States remain “in discussions on how to proceed with respect to the portion of the floating barrier that is located within the territory of Mexico.”

An Aug. 22 hearing is scheduled before U.S. District Court Judge David Alan on the administration’s lawsuit.