A Diplomatic Strain
It turns out Mexico was a lot more upset with Gov. Greg Abbott's buoy barrier in the Rio Grande than we first knew.
During a federal court hearing on Tuesday in Austin, a top U.S. State Department official said Mexican officials have issued three different diplomatic notes to the U.S., voiced their concerns directly in phone calls with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has brought the buoys up repeatedly in his daily media briefings.
During the testimony, Hillary Quam, U.S.-Mexico Border Affairs Coordinator for the State Department, said the barrier in the river has become a "major concern for Mexico" because it could alter the river flows and violate long-established treaties between the nations. She said it has had an "adverse impact" on diplomatic relations.
And that was all before it came to light that most of the barrier was likely floating on the Mexican side of the river according to the binational group that monitors the river. While officials for Cochrane, which installed the barriers, denied they placed the buoys on the Mexican side of the river, they still spent the weekend trying to reposition the barrier closer to the Texas side of the river.
Mexico may be upset with Texas for infringing on its sovereignty with the buoys, but Abbott has repeatedly said he has the right to defend the state against the surge of immigration coming between ports of entry.
"I will do whatever I have to do to defend our state from the invasion of the Mexican drug cartels and others who are trying to come into our country illegally," Abbott said last month. "I will protect our sovereignty."
 | Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter |
Who's up, who's down
Up: The Buoy Barrier.
The barrier will get to stay in place a little while longer. Federal Judge David Alan Ezra gave attorneys on both sides of the buoy barrier case until the close of business on Friday to submit closing statements before he decides whether to force the state to remove the barriers while the case proceeds.
Down: Will Hurd.
The former San Antonio Congressman won't be on stage during the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee tomorrow night and he's not happy about it. Hurd said he hit the donor threshold and had polling numbers to qualify but was still rejected by the Republican National Committee. He said the lack of transparency about the process is unacceptable but he's going to keep campaigning.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
What else is going on in Texas
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Pick of the day
Former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd did not qualify for the first Republican presidential debate this Wednesday as the Texan continues to struggle to build momentum.
What else I'm reading
Gerrymandering may have greatly improved the chances of Republicans flipping another key seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Jorge A. Vela of the Laredo Morning Times reports that Democrats in South Texas are concerned that the retirement of State of Texas Rep. Tracy King, D-Uvalde, could improve Republican chances of flipping that seat.
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