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Rio Grande Buoy Wall Draws Fire from Scientists, Locals
The Department of Homeland Security began installing sensor-equipped buoys to deter illegal crossings, despite environmental and local officials' concerns over legal and ecological impacts.
- Contractors are installing a 17-mile stretch of cylindrical buoys in the Rio Grande near Brownsville, Texas, as part of Operation River Wall, the federal government's new border security initiative.
- Homeland Security waived more than 30 federal laws in Cameron County to expedite construction, enabling plans to install roughly 536 miles of floating barriers along the Texas-Mexico border.
- The first 17-mile segment costs $96 million, though critics warn the buoys lack public flood modeling and could intensify flooding, citing the Rio Grande's 2010 crest of 57.63 feet.
- Local advocates and residents continue protesting the barriers, while Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. expressed "numerous questions" regarding potential long-term impacts on communities.
- Researchers warn the barriers may violate the 1970 U.S.-Mexico treaty due to potential "deflection or obstruction" of river flows, potentially forcing the United States to repair damage or compensate Mexico.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Controversy growing over buoys in the Rio Grande
Trump administration started deploying 500 miles of Big buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande, the dividing border line with Mexico, financed by 2025's spending bill. Locals aren't happy considering that illegal border crossings are at a 50-year low.
A war zone, minus the war: One year later, has the military really secured the U.S.-Mexico border?
This article first appeared in The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. Subscribe to their newsletter. On a warm, winter Sunday, the Playas de Tijuana in Mexico is filled with families picnicking. The beach here presses right up against the border wall with the United States. Music blares, teenagers film TikTok videos next to the 30-foot high fence, which is covered in painted murals o…
New Water Buoy Barriers in Texas Could Disrupt Rio Grande in 'Unpredictable, Damaging, Catastrophic' Ways, Experts Say
Experts consulted about the barriers said they could speed up floodwater in a region already prone to flooding, as well as accumulate sediment and create new landforms along the river.
New DHS border buoys in the Rio Grande raise concerns
The Trump administration is moving ahead with a new border security project in the Rio Grande — a floating barrier of linked buoys. The effort, known as Operation River Wall, calls for more than 500 miles of buoy barriers in the river along the Texas-Mexico border. There are questions about how the buoys would function during a flooding event.
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