NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Texas attorneys asked federal appeals court judges Thursday to let the state keep large concrete-anchored buoys in place to block migrants from crossing the Rio Grande — a floating barrier that the Biden administration says was illegally deployed without required federal authorization.
Arguments before three judges with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans centered on whether the river area near the border city of Eagle Pass is, or could be, used for commercial navigation.
Lanora Pettit, arguing for the state of Texas, said the shallow, rocky stretch of the Rio Grande is clearly not navigable and unlikely to ever be. She said the Biden administration asserted that it is in order "to enjoin the state from taking action to protect its citizens against violent, criminal activity."
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