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Feds Plan to Install 536 Miles of Floating Barriers on Rio Grande to Deter Migrants
DHS installs first 17 miles of a planned 536-mile buoy barrier on the Rio Grande to prevent illegal crossings amid a 73% drop in apprehensions, costing $5.6 million per mile.
- On Feb. 26, contractors began installing buoys in Brownsville's Southmost neighborhood as the Department of Homeland Security starts a 536-mile plan with over $1 billion in contracts.
- Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived more than 30 federal laws in a 20-mile area along the Rio Grande to expedite the Waterborne Barrier Project, building on previous Eagle Pass and U.S. Army Corps actions.
- Contract reviews show a $5.6 million per mile cost estimate, pushing the project above $3 billion, with federal contracts totaling over $2.5 billion, CBP said.
- Under the 1970 U.S.-Mexico treaty, construction causing 'adverse effects' requires removal, repair, or compensation, but the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission has been silent despite likely violations by the buoys, experts say.
- Federal agencies have not made environmental assessments or flood modeling public, critics say, while Mark Tompkins warned local officials earlier this month of unpredictable, catastrophic river changes and the GAO found flooding worsened with one death trapped in buoys.
13 Articles
13 Articles
The federal government began to deploy floating barriers on the border river with Mexico to reduce irregular crossings. Impact on key routes.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection plan to install 536 miles of barriers on Rio Grande
The federal government is working on the first section of 536 miles of buoys on the Rio Grande that will serve as a waterborne barrier that reduces illegal crossings along the border. Some residents and organizations nearby are raising concerns about flooding impacts and how the artificial barriers might change the flow of the Rio Grande.
After 20 Years of Resistance, Trump Is Walling Off the Rio Grande Valley
Editor’s Note: This story is copublished with The Border Chronicle. About 10 miles upstream from the mouth of the Rio Grande, along a quiet bend of the river near a historic Civil War battle site, Mexican fishermen in overalls casting their nets into the water are a familiar sight. Brown pelicans sometimes follow fishing boats hoping to catch a snack. The sound of water splashing along the riverbank from the wake of a boat is oddly comforting. …
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