The Latest Breaking News from the Rio Grande

Lower court also sided with federal administration

A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas must move a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that drew backlash from Mexico

The Rio Grande is one of the longest rivers in North America, running some 1,900 miles (3,060 kilometers) from the Colorado Rockies southeast to the Gulf of Mexico. It provides fresh water for seven U.S. and Mexican states, and forms the border between Texas and Mexico, where it is known…

After decades of negotiations and even protests, Mexico and the U.S. struggle to find a compromise over a 1944 water treaty.

Gov. Greg Abbott said the barrier — two rows of wire strung between metal posts near Interstate 10 — was necessary because migrants are crossing the border at New Mexico and walking into El Paso.

Attorneys for Texas are asking federal appeals court judges to let the state keep in place a floating barrier to block migrants from crossing the Rio Grande

The state's floating barrier on the Rio Grande will cost about $1 million.

A federal appeals is allowing Texas’ floating barrier on the Rio Grande to stay in place for now

The ruling is a win for the Biden administration, which sued the state over floating barriers criticised by Mexico.

The judge gave Texas until Sept. 15 to move the barrier to shore and barred the state from placing any additional buoys or other structures in the river. Gov. Greg Abbott plans to appeal the ruling.

Nearly three months after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot line of buoys and mesh in the Rio Grande, an Austin federal judge ordered the state to remove the barrier and stop building further obstructions in the river. One day later a higher court sided with Texas.