The Department of Homeland Security began installing a massive 500‑mile network of floating buoy barriers along the U.S.–Mexico border, a move that mirrors the deterrence strategy first deployed by Texas under Governor Greg Abbott as part of Operation Lone Star.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks announced on Friday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection began the installation of what will become 500 miles of floating border barriers along the Rio Grande in South Texas. Before assuming this role, Banks served as Governor Abbott’s Border Czar, overseeing the state-funded buoy barrier program that was aggressively opposed by the Biden administration. While only a few thousand feet of Texas buoy’s were deployed, the program proved the technology to be effective at deterring border crossings in unsecured areas of the border.
Chief Banks described the new buoys as “Game Changers!” in his post on social media. He said these are the first of what will end up as a more than 500-mile floating border barrier.
X.com user Sherry Furr posted a comment to Bank’s post describing the effectiveness of the buoys. “No sane person would go near these buoys!” she wrote. “They are formidable! And, No, you cannot swim underneath them!”
In January, Breitbart Texas’s Randy Clark reported that President Donald Trump ordered the installation of 17 miles of this buoy system. Funding for the construction comes from the FY21 CBP budget, which the Biden administration left unused. The barriers will supplement additional border security measures funded by the passage of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. The pilot program was ordered to be installed in the Rio Grande Valley Sector near Cameron County, Texas.
In June 2023, Texas Governor Abbott announced plans to install floating border barriers, Clark reported. The project quickly came under fire from the Biden administration and other open-border advocates. In January 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a lower-court ruling and allowed the construction project to continue as the lawsuit filed by the Biden administration proceeded.
In July, the Fifth Circuit, en banc, ruled that Texas can keep the barriers and expand the program. “Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water,” Abbott posted on social media in response to the ruling. “That is exactly where they will stay.”
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In response to the Trump administration’s announcement of 500+ miles of floating border barriers, Governor Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, told the Texas Tribune, “Texas finally has a partner in the White House. The floating marine barriers deployed by Texas have been a resounding success, and Governor Abbott is proud to work with the Trump Administration and Border Patrol to expand the program.”
While announcing the barrier deployment during a recent border visit, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the barriers “create a safer environment for agents on patrol, and securing our waterways not only protects Americans, it saves the lives of illegal aliens by deterring them from daring to attempt to cross through this treacherous water.”
As installation continues in the Rio Grande Valley, the buoy program marks one of the most significant expansions of water‑based border security in U.S. history. What began as a small‑scale Texas initiative—fought over in court and criticized by the prior administration—has now become a central component of the federal government’s strategy to harden the southern border. With more than 500 miles planned, DHS officials say the system will operate alongside new infrastructure, technology, and personnel increases authorized under recent federal legislation.
Border Patrol leaders describe the buoys as a force multiplier for agents on the ground, while Texas officials frame the federal rollout as long‑overdue validation of the state’s approach. As construction accelerates in the coming months, the Rio Grande is poised to become the testing ground for the largest floating barrier system ever deployed along the U.S.–Mexico border.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
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