Group Demands Dangerous Razor Wire Be Removed Before Flooding

A group of Presidio County officials and community members is urging Joint Task Force–Southern Border and United States Customs and Border Protection to remove concertina wire installed in the Rio Grande floodplain in Presidio, Texas before seasonal flooding sends the wire downstream.

The joint letter challenges CBP’s May 7, 2026 statement that the wire is “appropriately secured to withstand seasonal flooding,” arguing that the installation fails to meet the Army’s own published engineering standards. Evidence suggests the pickets are driven into fine-grained alluvial soils that Army doctrine identifies as unsuitable for load-bearing installations and the wire itself is not secured to the pickets, likening the whole setup to “a toothpick pushed top-down through a stretched-out spiky slinky.”

The group warn that flood-mobilized razor wire would endanger residents, ranchers, livestock, wildlife, river guides, tourists, first responders, and border personnel while also trapping debris and altering river flows. They further argue that allowing flood-borne wire to obstruct the flow of the Rio Grande may conflict with federal law and treaty obligations governing the river as the international boundary between the United States and Mexico.

With recent regional flooding already requiring debris removal along FM 170 just downstream of the wire, the risk is no longer hypothetical and an immediate technical review and removal of the wire are requested.   The letter states that border security measures must comply with federal law, international treaty obligations, and established engineering and safety standards.

“We take the Army at its word: standards save lives. The standards are being violated. Lives are at risk as a result.”