Last week, Matt covered how a federal appeals court ruled that a buoy border wall installed on the Rio Grande by GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott can stay in place for the time being. This came after a Reagan-appointed judge ruled that the buoys had to be removed, which Townhall reported.
Since the border barrier was installed, groups filed lawsuits against it. Abbott argued that Texas had the right to defend its own borders.
"I will do whatever I have to do to defend our state from the invasion of the Mexican drug cartels and others who have tried to come into our country illegally, and I will protect our sovereignty," Abbott said of the buoys.
New marine barrier installation on the Rio Grande begins today.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 7, 2023
Texas DPS is overseeing the project in Eagle Pass.
More to come. pic.twitter.com/nHrTqUG7Fi
A majority of Texas voters support Abbott’s use of buoys in the Rio Grande to deter illegal immigrants, a new poll from the University of Texas shows.
According to the results, 52 percent of respondents support Abbott’s floating border barrier. On the other hand, 40 percent oppose it. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.83 percentage points.
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In addition, the majority of voters support Abbott’s other approaches to defend the border (via The Texas Tribune):
Among participants, Abbott’s overall tactics on the border under his Operation Lone Star appeared well received, with 64% supporting deploying state police and military resources on the border and 29% opposing. Similarly, 60% of respondents supported constructing walls and other physical barriers on the border with 32% opposing.
Other tactics had less support, with 48% of respondents supporting busing migrants out of Texas and 41% opposing. Only 32% supported separating men from their families when apprehending migrants at the border, compared to 55% opposing.
In 2021, Abbott sent thousands of National Guard soldiers and state troopers to the southern border to address the ongoing immigration crisis. Since then, Texas has sent tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to left-wing “sanctuary cities” to share the burden of the crisis.
