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A hearing on Gov. Greg Abbott’s appeal to leave the floating barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass has been set for early October in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
On Monday, the appellate court ordered that the case be “expedited to the next available oral argument calendar.” The hearing will be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 5 in the Wisdom Courthouse in New Orleans.
“The hearings would not be livestreamed, nor would cameras be permitted,” Michael Lahrman, public affairs officer for the Western District of Texas, wrote in an email to The Rider today.
“The stay entered by this Court on September 7, 2023, will remain in effect and preserve the status quo pending further order of the oral argument panel,” the appellate court wrote.
Last Wednesday, Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra granted the federal government’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ordering Texas to move the floating barrier by Friday from the “middle” of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, which was designed to prevent migrants from crossing.
Ezra is the presiding judge in the lawsuit filed July 24 by the U.S. against Abbott and the State of Texas. The suit seeks “to remove all structures and obstructions, including a floating barrier and all infrastructure in the Rio Grande.”
The U.S. alleges the structures were placed without the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ authorization, in violation of Rivers and Harbors Act, and that they “constitute an unauthorized obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States in violation of RHA.”
