In its latest effort to deter illegal crossings in Southeast Texas, the Department of Homeland Security this week unveiled new water buoy barriers that are already being installed along the Rio Grande near Brownsville, with officials revealing the system is designed to span as much as 500 miles of the border.
During a Jan. 7 news conference, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the purpose of the barriers is to make it significantly more difficult for undocumented migrants, as well as drug and human traffickers, to cross the river into the United States.
