After the Biden-Harris administration long fought to keep floating water barriers out of the Texas Rio Grande and failed, one member of the administration’s party now says the innovative idea to restrict illegal immigration was actually his to begin with.
Texas Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate lawmaker who represents a border district in the southern part of the state, told Newsweek that he was the first to pitch the idea to Border Patrol officials as a way of controlling migration without resorting to wall construction. Buoy barriers have since been widely lauded by Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his Operation Lone Star initiative to combat the ongoing border crisis.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but actually, I was the one years ago who suggested that to Border Patrol because I did not want the wall,” Cuellar stated to Newsweek. “I said, if you put a wall in Texas in the river, you’re about a quarter mile away.”
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“So when somebody crosses and touches the riverbanks, they can claim asylum,” he continued.
Launched in March 2021, Operation Lone Star has helped apprehend hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, bussed tens of thousands of illegal migrants to various sanctuary cities across the country and has expanded border barriers — including water barriers, according to Abbott’s office. The Texas governor announced in November that his administration was expanding the length of floating marine barriers across the Rio Grande River in the Eagle Pass, Texas area.
Texas, which shares more border with Mexico than any other state, naturally took much of the brunt of the immigration crisis, and the City of Eagle Pass was hit partially hard. The mayor declared a state of emergency over the crisis in September 2023, and Abbott’s Operation Lone Star has since focused much of its resources on border security near the town.
Cuellar has bucked party lines in the past on immigration enforcement issues, such as when he became one of only six House Democrats in July to vote in favor of a resolution formally denouncing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the border crisis.
Abbott has long battled court challenges to his implementation of buoy barriers to keep illegal migrants from reaching Texas, with the Biden administration arguing that he needed federal permission. The White House demanded the buoys be taken down in a lawsuit filed in July 2023, but after a drawn out court fight, the GOP governor landed a major victory in August when the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that he could keep the buoys in place.
“I prefer buoys over building a fence and taking private property away,” Cuellar said to Newsweek. “The state plays a role, but combining their resources, personnel, and equipment with federal agencies would do a better job at securing the border.”
Abbott is sure to gain an ally in the next administration, with President-elect Donald Trump vowing to conduct a sweeping immigration crackdown once he enters the White House. Trump has pledged to embark on the largest deportation initiative in U.S. history, revive the Remain in Mexico program, reinstate the travel ban and also resume border wall construction.
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The president-elect has already tapped a number of hardliners to lead immigration enforcement roles. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has been nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, longtime aide Stephen Miller will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan will serve as border czar.
Cuellar told Newsweek that he would be meeting with Homan in the coming days to discuss immigration policy.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.