(NewsNation) — Texas started installing floating buoys on the Rio Grande last month to block migrant crossings, and officials are clashing over the move.
The chained buoys are at the center of a lawsuit. The Department of Justice has sued, arguing that Gov. Greg Abbott violated the Rivers and Harbors Act. Meanwhile, Abbott said the state is “fully authorized by the Constitution of the United States of America” to put up barriers to “secure the border.”
Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, does not think the buoys are needed since migrant crossings have dropped with the Title 8 border policy in place. The U.S. has been heavily relying on Title 8 since the expiration of Title 42.
Under Title 8, migrants can apply for legal pathways to enter the U.S., and it gives migrants more time to file asylum claims, but it can also lead to deportation.
“Title 8 has absolutely reduced migrant crossings by about 60% in the last 90 days. That’s the same Title 8 that Greg Abbott and every other Republican across this country fought against reinstating. They would much rather prefer to keep Donald Trump’s chaotic Title 42 that had no law enforcement protocols, that had people crossing back and forth with impunity,” Gutierrez said during an interview on “NewsNation Now.”
Gutierrez said Texas has dealt with migrant crossings for the last 100 years, and the state has seen ebbs and flows over time. He does not seem confident that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will work together on the issue.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s going to take a whole Congress to do that. Senators and congressmen working together, trying to find a solution. The solutions are right there in front of us. It’s just that these people are not serious people and don’t want to be able to deliver,” he said.
Both sides in the lawsuit over the border buoys in Texas have until Friday to submit written closing arguments.