By: Yiling Sun

Texas has decided to build a 1000-foot barrier through the Rio Grande River to define the border of Texas and Mexico. This barrier is being made to stop migrants from illegally crossing into the United States.

Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, says that the barrier will be made of four feet wide buoys. It will be built first in the water at Eagle Pass, a city where most migrants pass through.

“We can put mile after mile after mile of these buoys,” Abbott said. “When we’re dealing with gatherings of 100 or 1,000, one of the goals is to slow down and deter as many of them as possible.”

The mayor of Eagle Pass, Rolando Salinas Jr., agreed with Abbott about the floating barrier. He does not want to deal with the thousands of migrants arriving every day.

“If this means less people will be crossing illegally through the heart of Eagle Pass, we support it,” Salinas said. “We want to avoid any interruption to our international bridges and our downtown businesses. People shouldn’t be crossing there to begin with.”

Migrants have been swimming and drowning across the waters of Eagle Pass, forcing deputies like Robert De Leon to pull out one or two dead bodies every day.

“Anything that keeps us from finding a dead body on the side of the river, I’m for,” De Leon said.

Governor officials in Mexico, however, did not respond to the request for comment. They may not agree, but no one knows that for sure.

Rodolfo Rosales Jr., a state director with the Texas branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens, does not think that the barrier will work.

“He [Governor Abbot] is using this as political theater, to promote his MAGA agenda, and it’s not going to stop people from coming,” Rosales said.

In defense, Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, says that the barrier has been tested. There are ways to get over it, but it is very difficult.

“This is a deterrent from even coming in the water,” McCraw said.

On July 7, the barrier will be finished and put to use. It is said to cost one million dollars. Despite this, Abbott is willing to spend the money and complete this project to stop migrants from illegally crossing the border. In a way, he is doing the migrants a favor to stop them from dying or getting arrested, but he is also potentially creating a bigger problem.