On Friday, June 30, Governor Greg Abbott reissued his continuing declaration of a border security disaster, which began two years ago.
His declaration claims that "the surge of individuals unlawfully crossing the Texas–Mexico border pose an ongoing and imminent threat of disaster for a number of Texas counties."
And next week Abbott’s planned border barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande is expected to be complete near Eagle Pass in Maverick County. The announced completion date is July 7.
The barrier will be one thousand feet long and consist of very large red buoy spheres. Abbott said this first installation is a test, and if it works, there will be more marine barriers put in place along the border river.
However, the true test may not be in the river, but in the courts.
Abbott’s floating barrier in Eagle Pass will likely be challenged as a violation of international law.
An expert on the international law that governs the river shared with the United States and Mexico says Abbott has "gone rogue" and there is nothing to prevent Mexico from removing the barrier if a small portion of it moves into its territory.
Also, groups like the Rio Grande International Study Center based in Laredo are watching and planning on responding to the installation in some way.
Tricia Cortez is the executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center. They are celebrating a victory this week against a legal remnant of the Trump border wall which they prevented from being built.
Solar Saves Texas
Without solar and wind power Texas would be a very different place this week. The record high temperatures have caused record high demand for electricity. The old portion of the grid, the declining coal and gas-fired power plants, couldn’t keep up.
You may have noticed that Texans have not had to tolerate rolling blackouts due to power shortages. It was solar and wind that supplied the power the Texans needed. And this is despite the barriers that the Texas legislature has put in the way of development for renewable power.
The Guardian’s Climate Reporter Dharna Noor has written about this in her story “Solar helps Texas carry energy load as heatwave puts power grid to test”
Forensic Hypnosis Banned
Starting September 1, hypnosis will no longer be a thing in Texas courtrooms.
The most recent legislature passed a bill that banned the practice, and Governor Greg Abbott allowed it to become law. And while opponents of courtroom junk science are applauding this development, it does little to nothing for those who have been convicted and even sentenced to die based on this discredited practice.
Maurice Chammah has written about this. He is a journalist with the Marshall Project and host of the podcast “Just Say You’re Sorry.”
