The governor of Texas has announced plans to create a 1,000ft inflatable ‘wall’ to stop dangerous migrant crossings. Gov Greg Abbott revealed the plan will see the floating ‘wall’ erected in the middle of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass.
It was the scene of a big incursion in 2022 when 1,700 migrants cross into El Paso in just one weekend. Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said: “We want to prevent people from drowning. This is a proactive way.”
He added that the floating barrier is just ‘another tool’ to help secure the border under Abbott’s Operation Lonestar initiative, Express US reports.
Governor Abbott added: “Washington DC has failed to do (their) job. As a result, Texas has had to take unprecedented steps and responding to the crisis caused by the by the administration on the border.
“And in response, the Texas Legislature has stepped up to make sure they will be able to more robustly restock already before now, Texas has arrested more than 29,000 criminals, including people who were wanted for murder, and put them behind bars.”
Abbott then added: “We can put mile, after mile, after mile of these buoys. We are securing the border at the border.”
The cost is said to be less than a million dollars. The 1,000-foot inflatable barrier will be placed in the middle of the river near Eagle Pass, Texas – a highly popular crossing spot for migrants across from Piedras Negras in the state of Coahuila, Mexico.
It comes less than a month after the end of Title 42, which was a pandemic-era expulsion policy allowing for immediate deportation of migrants claiming asylum during a public health emergency. Republicans and border hawks have slammed President Joe Biden for ending the policy without putting in place an alternative to keep record-setting migration numbers from reaching even higher levels.
