A federal appeals judge is letting Texas keep those buoys for the time being.  He has Governor Greg Abbott doing his best Texas version of Maurice Williams's "Stay ah just a bit longer."  This is the story:

In issuing a preliminary injunction to remove the barrier, Ezra wrote, "Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters."

The New Orleans-based federal appeals court granted the state's request to halt the temporary injunction, but did not provide further details. A hearing date has not been set yet.

The 1,000-foot-long string of buoys, separated by serrated saw blades and supporting a submerged mesh net, has floated in the middle of the river next to Eagle Pass since July, sparking protests from the Mexican government and migrant advocates alike.

The story is not over, but I do think this is a short-term victory for Texas.  It will allow Texas to make the case in appeal that the Biden administration's border negligence left no other choice than to stop the human traffic.

Perhaps Texas will lose in the end.  The courts may end up agreeing with Judge Ezra that a state cannot do this.  On the other hand, the court could issue an opinion that a state has the right to protect itself from federal irresponsibility.

As a Texas resident, but more importantly a U.S. citizen, I'd like to see the federal courts tackle this issue.  The border chaos is not only a humanitarian crisis, as we saw in a recent U.N. report, but an economic mess, as the mayor of New York City can tell you.

So the buoys can stay just a little bit longer.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.