Water barriers are one step closer to making their way to Rio Grande in Cameron County, and it's being funded by the Big Beautiful Bill signed by President Donald Trump.

The government is set to deploy buoys in the river near Brownsville, and the Department of Homeland Security says it's needed to deter drug and human smuggling.

Environmentalists say they're concerned.

"They're an insult to the environment. They're not going to do anything but sort of interfere with the flow of the river," South Texas Environmental Justice Network Co-Founder Christopher Basaldu said.

Basaldu believes the buoys will do more than just disrupt the flow of the river. He says it has the potential to hurt wildlife and people.

"If the river levels gets too low they won't float, and they'll just be standing or sitting upon the river bottom and whatever goes downstream in the river will get caught up in those buoys," Basaldu said. "It's anti-human, and it's anti life, and we should reject it completely."

The water buoys are expected to be similar to what Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed in the Eagle Pass area.

The federal government has already awarded a more than $96 million contract to build the 17-mile-long water barrier. The funding is a part of the one Big Beautiful Bill.

Channel 5 News spoke with Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino about the buoys. He said the county did not know about the government's plans.

"Our hope is that these actions are being taken in a way that helps our federal law enforcement do their jobs, does not impact the environmental issues or concerns that could be raised with regards to the placings of these buoys," Trevino said.

The judge says he also questions the need for a water barrier because of the amount of border crossings being seen.

According to statistics from CBP, border encounters have dropped from the last fiscal year. In 2024, there were around 130,000 encounters and in 2025 that number dropped to 34,700

The water barriers will be placed near Palm Boulevard and end in the Southmost area of Brownsville.

Trevino says while he wasn't told about the government's plans, he is open to working together.

"I don't know what these buoys are made of, but I think more communication, collaboration would be beneficial to everyone involved," Trevino said.

There is no date set on when the water barriers will hit the water.

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