Federal government is challenging Texas's buoys in the Rio Grande – here’s why these kinds of border blockades wind up complicating immigration enforcement

Buoy barriers are shown in the middle of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 18, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The Rio Grande is only about 328 feet, or about 99 meters, wide. But the waterway dividing Texas from northern Mexico is deceptively dangerous and routinely claims the lives of migrants who try to cross it, but get caught in undetected rip currents or otherwise drown.

Now, it’s the site of a legal battle between the U.S. federal government and the state of Texas regarding the right to enact blockades in the river.