Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has installed a 1,000-foot string of 4-foot-high bright orange buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, which is a common—and frequently deadly—crossing point for immigrants. The floating barrier will cost about $1 million and will cover only a small portion of the 1,254 miles of river along the Texas border with Mexico. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, admitted at a press conference that the barrier can still be crossed with “great effort.” On August 2, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that a body was found caught in the buoys, just one month after they were installed.
