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| Photos: U.S. Border Patrol and Getty Images |
The Department of Homeland Security began installing a massive 500‑mile network of floating buoy barriers along the U.S.–Mexico border, a move that mirrors the deterrence strategy first deployed by Texas under Governor Greg Abbott as part of Operation Lone Star.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks announced on Friday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection began the installation of what will become 500 miles of floating border barriers along the Rio Grande in South Texas. Before assuming this role, Banks served as Governor Abbott’s Border Czar, overseeing the state-funded buoy barrier program that was aggressively opposed by the Biden administration. While only a few thousand feet of Texas buoy’s were deployed, the program proved the technology to be effective at deterring border crossings in unsecured areas of the border.
Chief Banks described the new buoys as “Game Changers!” in his post on social media. He said these are the first of what will end up as a more than 500-mile floating border barrier.
X.com user Sherry Furr posted a comment to Bank’s post describing the effectiveness of the buoys. “No sane person would go near these buoys!” she wrote. “They are formidable! And, No, you cannot swim underneath them!”
In January, Breitbart Texas’s Randy Clark reported that President Donald Trump ordered the installation of 17 miles of this buoy system. Funding for the construction comes from the FY21 CBP budget, which the Biden administration left unused. The barriers will supplement additional border security measures funded by the passage of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. The pilot program was ordered to be installed in the Rio Grande Valley Sector near Cameron County, Texas. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune |
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to expand on Texas’ controversial floating barrier during a Wednesday visit to the Rio Grande Valley.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is beefing up its border security efforts along the Rio Grande, expanding on a controversial Texas strategy by placing large, floating buoys along more than 500 miles of the river.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the deployment of the barriers Wednesday during a visit to the Rio Grande Valley that included a roundtable discussion with U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel as well as ranchers whose property is often traversed by migrants moving north after crossing the border.
Standing before one of the buoys — large floating, cylindrical devices that can measure up to 15 feet long and four to five feet in diameter — Noem said 130 miles of the water barrier were already under contract and were beginning to be installed that day.
This water barrier is part of a push by President Donald Trump to build a “Smart Wall” made up of steel barriers, waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras and detection technology. The projects are funded by the 2025 tax and spending megabill, which Trump named the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Noem touted the water barrier as a deterrent to people crossing the border illegally as well as drug smugglers and human traffickers.
Homeland Security and the Border Patrol are working with the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission and the state of Texas to ensure proper installation of the buoys, Noem said. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to a relevant story:
+++++DHS shows off new border buoys in Rio Grande+++++
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