Federal Appeals Court Hands Texas a Major Border Win Over the Biden Administration
The summary discusses a recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which favored Texas Governor Greg Abbott regarding a floating barrier in the Rio Grande. This barrier was installed to deter illegal immigration into the U.S. The Biden administration, aiming to keep the border more open, sued Abbott, claiming the barrier violated the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act (RHA) of 1899. Initially, a district court sided with the administration, but the appeals court reversed this decision, allowing Texas to maintain the barrier while questioning the administration’s justification for its removal. Abbott celebrated the ruling as a victory for Texas, suggesting the Biden administration’s concerns were less about river navigation and more about immigration control. The case highlights tensions over border security and the legal interpretations of federal versus state authority.
Biden administration officials have fought tooth and nail for every measure that would destroy the United States of America. So it is worth celebrating when they fail.
On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sided with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas in a case involving Abbott’s July 2023 decision to install a floating barrier in the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, Texas, as part of an effort to stem the influx of immigrants crossing illegally into the United States.
The Biden administration, desperate to keep the border open, immediately sued Abbott. Citing the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899, federal officials demanded removal of the floating barrier.
A district court then granted a preliminary injunction against Texas, which the full appeals court stayed pending appeal.
In other words, the question of whether Texas violated the RHA by illegally obstructing navigable waters has remained in the courts for the past year.
The entire case, in fact, involves a degree of obvious diabolical deception.
After all, the Biden administration does not give two hoots about the RHA, and everyone knows it. Federal officials sued Abbott not to protect river navigation, but to keep the border open.
Still, the appeals court had to proceed as if RHA and not open borders constituted the real issue.
“We ask: Can the United States likely prove during trial that Texas violated the RHA? That question turns on another: Can the United States likely prove that the barrier is located within a navigable stretch of the Rio Grande? Because the RHA extends only to navigable waters, our answer to this question may — and in our view does — dispose of the first,” the appeals court wrote.
In other words, the Biden administration could not even prove the river’s navigability in that relevant stretch.
It appears, therefore, that the federal government intended primarily to keep Texas tied up in court over something palpably absurd.
“Accordingly, we now DISSOLVE the stay pending appeal, REVERSE the district court’s order granting a preliminary injunction, and REMAND with instructions to vacate the preliminary injunction and for further proceedings consistent with this opinion,” the appeals court wrote.
Thus, the barrier remains.
On the social media platform X, Abbott celebrated.
“The Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just ruled that Texas can KEEP these buoys in the water securing our border. Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water. That is exactly where they will stay. JUSTICE!!!!” the governor posted.
The Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just ruled that Texas can KEEP these buoys in the water securing our border.
Biden tried to remove them.
I fought to keep them in the water.
That is exactly where they will stay.
JUSTICE!!!! https://t.co/IlzttmnOVr
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 31, 2024
In short, by resorting to a 19th-century river navigation law, Biden administration officials exposed both their brazenness and their desperation to keep the border open.
But, as it sometimes does, the American judiciary acted to protect the interests of the sovereign people.
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