In Pictures

Photos: Battle grows over buoys, razor wire on US-Mexico border

Texas governor faces mounting criticism after escalating measures aimed at restricting asylum seekers from entering US.

Migrants, one a child, stand in the Rio Grande — Migrants stand in the Rio Grande behind concertina wire as they try to enter the United States from Mexico near a site where workers are assembling large buoys to be used as a border barrier in Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Wrecking ball-sized buoys on the Rio Grande. Razor wire strung across private property without permission. Bulldozers changing the very terrain of the southern US border.

For more than two years, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has escalated measures to keep migrants from entering the United States, pushing legal boundaries with a go-it-alone bravado along the state’s 1,930km (1,200-mile) border with Mexico.

Now blowback over the tactics is widening, including from within Texas.

A state trooper’s account of officers denying migrants water in temperatures of 37.7 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) and razor wire leaving asylum seekers bloodied has prompted renewed criticism.

The Mexican government, residents and the administration of US President Joe Biden are pushing back, with the US Department of Justice threatening to sue Texas unless steps are taken on Monday to begin removing the floating barrier.

Abbott struck a defiant tone on Monday morning, blaming Biden for increased arrivals at the border and telling the president, “Texas will see you in court.”

“To end the risk that migrants will be harmed crossing the border illegally, you must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry,” the governor wrote in a letter (PDF) to Biden.

“In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused.”

The Biden administration responded on Monday, accusing Abbott of “undermining” federal efforts and “sowing chaos” at the border.

“What you see the governor doing is dangerous and unlawful and is actually hurting the process,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her daily press briefing. She called Abbott’s tactics “cruel, unjust [and] inhumane”.

The International Boundary and Water Commission also said it was not notified when Texas modified several islands and deployed the massive buoys to create a barrier covering 305m (1,000 feet) of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the river’s bed.

The floating barrier also provoked tensions with Mexico, which says it violates treaties. Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations asked the US government to remove the buoys and razor wire in a June letter.

Hugo Urbina, owner of Heavenly Farms in Eagle Pass, worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) when the agency built a fence on his property and arrested migrants and asylum seekers for trespassing.

But the relationship turned acrimonious a year later, after the DPS asked to put up concertina wire on riverfront property that the Urbinas were leasing to the US Border Patrol to process immigrants.

Urbina wanted the DPS to sign a lease releasing him from liability if the wire caused injuries. The DPS declined, but still installed concertina wire, moved vehicles onto the property and shut the Urbinas’ gates.

The DPS works with 300 landowners, according to regional director Victor Escalon. He said it is unusual for the department to take over a property without the landowner’s consent, but the Disaster Act provides the authority.

Urbina said he supports the governor’s efforts, “but not in this way”.

“You don’t go out there and start breaking the law and start making your citizens feel like they’re second-hand citizens,” he said.

Magali Urbina shields herself from the sun with an umbrella as she watches as the state installs large buoys — Magali Urbina shields herself from the sun with an umbrella as she watches the state install large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Workers assemble large buoys to be used as a border barrier along the banks of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Magali Urbina stands near a gate on pecan farm that has been bulldozed, locked and lined with concertina — On her pecan farm near Eagle Pass, Texas, Magali Urbina stands near a gate that has been bulldozed, locked and lined with concertina wire. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

A Texas state trooper watches as young migrants walk along concertina wire — A Texas state trooper watches as young migrants and asylum seekers walk along concertina wire on the banks of the Rio Grande as they try to enter the US from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

epa10744684 Workers fix buoys that were placed in the Rio Grande River — Workers fix buoys that were placed in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas. [Adam Davis/EPA-EFE]

Guardsmen watch as migrants try to cross the Rio Grande — Guards watch as migrants try to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the US near Eagle Pass. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Birds rest on concertina wire along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Migrants trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico approach the site where workers are assembling large buoys to be used as a border barrier — Asylum seekers trying to enter the US from Mexico approach the site where workers are assembling large buoys along the banks of the Rio Grande. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]

Kayak outfitter Jessie Fuentes stands above the Rio Grande — Kayak outfitter Jessie Fuentes stands above a section of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, where concertina wire lines the banks of the river. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]