Department of Homeland Security putting 17 miles of barriers into Rio Grande

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas puts more border buoys in Rio Grande

Texas Governor Greg Abbott posted a video of border buoys being placed into the Rio Grande shortly after President Trump was sworn into office. The Biden Administration had sued Texas in an attempt to get the border buoys removed.

CAMERON COUNTY, Texas - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security signed a waiver that will allow for a buoy barrier to be quickly constructed in the Rio Grande Valley.

DHS waiver for marine barriers in Texas

A string of buoys is pictured in the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas on August 25, 2023. The Republican governor of Texas signed a bill on December 18, 2023 that would allow state police to arrest and deport migrants who cross

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem signed the waiver for 17 miles of the waterborne barrier in the Rio Grande in Cameron County, Texas.

The waiver allows for DHS to waive legal requirements, including environmental laws, to "ensure the expeditious construction of physical barriers and roads."

A release from the Department of Homeland Security says that waterways along the Southwest border have been identified as a "capability gap."

The department says the floating barrier will deter people from attempting to cross the border through dangerous waterways.

It is the sixth waiver that Noem has signed for border barrier construction along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Texas floating barriers

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas: The Issue Is - DPS on Border Buoy Concerns

Lieutenant Chris Olivarez of the Texas Department of Safety discusses the situation at the border and disputes some claims by Democrats about the floating marine barrier that was added to the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass.

Local perspective:

Texas has placed several of its own marine barriers into the Rio Grande in recent years.

Governor Greg Abbott posted video of the large buoys going into place at the Texas-Mexico border shortly after President Trump was inaugurated.

The buoys were a point of contention between Texas and the Biden Administration.

The federal government sued Texas in 2023 to get the floating barriers removed, claiming it violated federal law. 

A district court initially sided with the Biden Administration, but it was overruled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

READ MORE: After Texas stops funding border wall program, 'One Big Beautiful Bill' would fill the gap

In November, Abbott announced that the state would expand the length of the floating barriers in Eagle Pass.

Texas ends funding for state border wall program

With only a small portion completed, the wall being constructed at the border of Texas and Mexico has been defunded by the new state budget.

Since President Trump took office, Texas has diverted some of its spending on border security.

Gov. Abbott has requested that the federal government reimburse Texas for over $11 billion for the state's border security efforts.

In the request, he said $4.75 billion had been spent on a border wall, other border barriers, local border security grants, processing criminal trespass arrests and relocation of migrants.