Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a major victory at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which vacated an injunction that wrongfully ordered Texas to remove buoys that the State placed in the Rio Grande to prevent aliens from entering America unlawfully. 

In 2023, Texas deployed the buoys to address the historic levels of aliens attempting illegal, dangerous—and in some cases, deadly—river crossings. The Biden Administration then sued and demanded Texas remove the buoys and reopen the border. A federal district court granted the Biden Administration a preliminary injunction and ordered the buoys to be removed and a Fifth Circuit panel issued a split decision upholding the order. However, in January 2024, Attorney General Paxton secured an en banc rehearing before the Fifth Circuit. 

The full court has now ruled that the district court’s flawed preliminary injunction misapplied the law and was an abuse of the lower court’s authority. The buoy barrier can remain in the river while proceedings continue at the district court level. 

“The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Texas's favor, finding that the federal district court abused its discretion when it ordered Texas to remove the buoys floating in the Rio Grande that prevent aliens from attempting a dangerous river crossing to enter America illegally,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The buoys can remain in the river. I will continue to defend Texas's right to protect its border from illegal immigration.”

To read the ruling, click here.