Texas plans on placing a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier in the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from Mexico from coming into the U.S., confirmed Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a news conference on June 1st. “We can put mile after mile after mile of these buoys,” Mr. Abbot explained. “When we’re dealing with gatherings of 100 or 1,000, one of the goals is to slow down and deter as many of them as possible.”
After hearing this news, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida flew three dozen migrants from El Paso, Texas to Sacramento, California. The governors of Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia also took action by sending local police and state National Guard members to the border of Mexico.
Despite the Biden administration’s consistent efforts to control the migrant situation, Republican leaders have been blaming the federal government and President Biden for not doing enough to stop the migrants from approaching the U.S.
Because of the worsening situation, Texas has been paying lots of money to protect the border: the state legislature has passed a two-year budget of $5.1 billion to spend on border security and $1 million to build the floating barrier.
Eagle Pass, a small city that is struggling with the flow of migrants, thinks that the idea of the floating barrier is a good one. Mayor Ronaldo Salinas Jr. stated, “If this means less people will be crossing illegally through the heart of Eagle Pass, we support it.”
As much as the floating barrier may seem like a good idea, there is also a downside to it. The migrants, who are attempting to swim across the river to try to escape, may get seriously injured by the barrier. Currently, deputies have been finding a few dead bodies in the river every day, so people are concerned that that number will escalate.
But, since the barrier is very hard to cross, Mr. McCraw thinks that the barrier “is a deterrent from even coming in the water,” which means that the barrier would be an effective solution.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/us/texas-abbott-border-wall.html
After hearing this news, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida flew three dozen migrants from El Paso, Texas to Sacramento, California. The governors of Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia also took action by sending local police and state National Guard members to the border of Mexico.
Despite the Biden administration’s consistent efforts to control the migrant situation, Republican leaders have been blaming the federal government and President Biden for not doing enough to stop the migrants from approaching the U.S.
Because of the worsening situation, Texas has been paying lots of money to protect the border: the state legislature has passed a two-year budget of $5.1 billion to spend on border security and $1 million to build the floating barrier.
Eagle Pass, a small city that is struggling with the flow of migrants, thinks that the idea of the floating barrier is a good one. Mayor Ronaldo Salinas Jr. stated, “If this means less people will be crossing illegally through the heart of Eagle Pass, we support it.”
As much as the floating barrier may seem like a good idea, there is also a downside to it. The migrants, who are attempting to swim across the river to try to escape, may get seriously injured by the barrier. Currently, deputies have been finding a few dead bodies in the river every day, so people are concerned that that number will escalate.
But, since the barrier is very hard to cross, Mr. McCraw thinks that the barrier “is a deterrent from even coming in the water,” which means that the barrier would be an effective solution.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/us/texas-abbott-border-wall.html
