Federal judge to rule on legality of Texas' migrant-deterring floating barrier after unauthorized positioning closer to US soil draws rebuke

Texas installed a barrier of interconnected buoys in the Rio Grande to deter migrants from crossing into the US from Mexico.
The barrier has faced opposition from the Biden administration and Mexico over humanitarian, environmental and diplomatic concerns.
Texas recently moved the barrier closer to the US side of the river after claims it had drifted into Mexican waters.
The Justice Department argues the barrier violates federal laws and treaties, with a federal judge now set to rule on its legality.
Texas' Operation Lone Star border mission continues facing legal scrutiny, including over the detention of migrants.