In a blow to Texas Governor Greg Abbott's efforts to deter illegal migration, a federal appeals court has ruled that Texas must relocate a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that has sparked backlash from Mexico. The decision, issued by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, requires Texas to halt any further work on the approximately 1,000-foot barrier and move it to the riverbank.

This ruling marks the second legal setback for Texas this week in relation to its border operations. On Wednesday, a federal judge permitted U.S. Border Patrol agents to continue cutting razor wire that the state had installed along the riverbank, despite objections from Texas officials.

The controversy surrounding the floating barrier centers around Texas' assertion that certain parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws safeguarding navigable waters. However, the appeals court sided with a lower court decision from September, which the governor had criticized as "incorrect" and anticipated would be overturned.

In the recent opinion, Judge Dana Douglas mentioned that the lower court properly considered the potential threat to navigation, federal government operations, and human life posed by the floating barrier. The court upheld the Biden administration's assertion that the barrier should be moved to ensure compliance with federal laws protecting navigable waters.

Governor Abbott swiftly denounced the decision, calling it "clearly wrong" and expressing his intention to seek a rehearing from the court. He even declared via a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that Texas would be willing to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary to safeguard the state from what he described as "Biden's open borders."

The lawsuit against Texas was initiated by the Biden administration over the linked and anchored buoys that make up the barrier, stretching roughly the length of three soccer fields. The installation of the barrier along the international border with Mexico, between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, came amidst an influx of illegal crossings.

Last fiscal year, nearly 400,000 individuals attempted to enter the United States through the southwest border section that encompasses Eagle Pass. However, U.S. District Judge David Ezra, prior to the appeals court ruling, expressed skepticism about Texas' justification for the barrier, noting a lack of credible evidence supporting its effectiveness in curbing illegal immigration.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security welcomed the 5th Circuit's decision, emphasizing that enforcing immigration law is a federal responsibility and reinforcing that consequences are imposed on individuals who cross the border without authorization.

Judge Don Willet, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued a dissenting opinion. Willet proposed that if the district court had acknowledged the alleged harm identified by the United States, it should have ordered the complete removal rather than relocation of the barriers to address the mounting tensions between the U.S. and Mexican governments.

Texas now faces the task of complying with the court order and moving the contested barrier, while the legal battle over border operations continues.