President Donald Trump’s administration is not only looking to secure the southern border on land but also by water, with the creation of hundreds of miles of a buoy border in the Rio Grande.
Speaking to the Washington Examiner, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks talked about the project that will get underway in 2026, designed to create a 500-mile defense along the waterway that stretches between the U.S. and Mexico.
EXCLUSIVE — The Trump administration will soon install more than 500 miles of buoy barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border, marking the first time the U.S. government has used a water-based defense system to stop illegal immigration. https://t.co/BquFbroy76
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 23, 2025
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EXCLUSIVE by @Anna_Giaritelli – Trump administration installing 500-mile wall of buoys in Rio Grande pic.twitter.com/Lmzrs9sEzp
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 23, 2025
Banks said the buoy barrier was initially planned during Trump’s first administration, but when former President Joe Biden took office, everything stopped.
The border patrol chief explained that the contracts were signed and they were prepared to “start deploying” the buoys, but the Biden administration decided they weren’t going to undertake that kind of infrastructure.
Banks said after he left the border patrol, he went to work for Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott as the Texas Border Czar. They worked on the buoy project, but just in the Lone Star state.
He said it worked great as a deterrent, and so this new barrier project will get underway soon.
“Texas proved what U.S. border patrol believed under Trump 45 that this would be an effective barrier as part of our total border wall system,” Banks said. “So, we’ve been moving forward on that rapidly.”
“We’re going to start laying the first string of those buoys down in the Rio Grande Valley in the first part of 2026,” he added. “The contracts are in place. The prework is being done. They’re very effective.”
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Banks then elaborated on what they really provide.
“What they really do is they push our border right to the border,” the chief said. “As you’ve seen when you’re looking at the border wall, oftentimes that wall is several feet to as much as miles north of the border because of those flood plains along the river.”
“This allows us to put early detection and deterrent right down the center of the river on the actual international boundary line,” he added. “And gives us that first point of detection of those trying to enter the country illegally.”
Banks made it clear that Trump is aware of the buoy border and said that the level of support the border patrol agency is getting from the president and his administration is “unprecedented.”
Crews are working nonstop, overcoming every obstacle to reinforce our border. The mission never stops and neither do we. Each mile of wall built delivers greater operational control and a safer homeland.@usbpchieftca pic.twitter.com/tsAwHIUmmu
— Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) December 20, 2025
“He listens to us, and he supports us,” the patrol chief said. “I have never seen this much support from a president and a Secretary that we get from Trump and Secretary [of Homeland Security Kristi] Noem.”
This buoy barrier comes after the border patrol under Trump 47 got back to work to reinforce the physical wall along the border states of California, New Mexico, and Arizona.
Promises kept.
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