Judge Rejects Texas’ Bid To Dismiss Federal Buoy Barrier Lawsuit—But Also Hands Texas A Partial Win

 

“Texas is a sovereign state, not a sovereign country,” a federal judge said on Friday, partially rejecting Texas' bid to dismiss a federal lawsuit over a 1,000-foot buoy barrier.

A federal judge on Friday partially rejected a bid from Texas officials to dismiss a federal lawsuit seeking to dismantle a controversial 1,000-foot buoy wall on the Rio Grande, blocking part of Texas’ request to dismiss the suit but tossing part of the federal suit.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra rejected the motion from Texas officials to completely dismiss the federal suit, allowing part of the federal argument to move forward, specifically the federal claim that the buoys are not permitted under the U.S. Rivers and Harbor Act.

Texas officials had argued the buoy project—installed last summer as a means to slow a surge in migrant border crossings—was permissible under the act, claiming the law applies to people and corporations, but not to a state project.

Ezra rejected that claim Friday, arguing the “Supreme Court has historically read the [act] to allow civil suits against states.”

The part of the federal claim Ezra rejected was an argument made over the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which prohibits construction that can impede navigation on the Rio Grande, with Ezra ruling the treaty “fails to state what measures should be taken upon a violation” or “provide any specific standard or rule of decision for a domestic court to follow.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Texas may not claim self-defense from an invasion at the border to justify a long-term usurping of congressional authority,” Ezra wrote, adding: “Texas is a sovereign state, not a sovereign country.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced the creation of the 1,000-foot buoy wall outside Eagle Pass, Texas last June as part of a larger effort to deter border crossings from Mexico, a major GOP policy initiative that has come to a boiling point in recent years, though the buoy project drew heavy pushback from Democrats as well as from Mexican officials. One month after Abbott’s announcement, the Department of Justice sued Texas and Abbott, claiming it violated the Rivers and Harbors Act. In September, Ezra ordered Texas to remove the buoys, arguing the barrier was constructed “without authorization of any kind, save the Governor’s directive.” That ruling was upheld by a federal appeals court in December, though Texas challenged that ruling, and the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted Texas’ request for further consideration, allowing the buoys to remain in place during the appeals process. A hearing in the case is scheduled for May 15.