The Texas National Guard has taken control of a park on the southern border of the United States and is now blocking Border Patrol from entering the area, part of an effort to stop the rise of illegal immigration in Texas and a measure that will likely significantly increase tensions between the Texas government. Greg Abbott and the federal government.
The state government has taken control of Shelby Park in the city of Eagle Pass, Texas, which has been at the center of the immigration crisis that has engulfed the US border. Authorities have put up barbed wire and fences to block the area.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas said he was informed the decision was made as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's emergency declaration. Salinas told reporters it was not something the city had requested and said that as a result, it was his understanding that Border Patrol was no longer in the area.
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January 11, 2024: Texas police secure Shelby Park near Eagle Pass. (FoxNews)
In a statement, the Texas Military Department said it has maintained a presence in the park since 2021, including with security checkpoints and temporary barriers.
“The current position is to prepare for future waves of illegal immigrants and restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and the greater Eagle Pass area,” he said.
The Border Patrol union confirmed to Fox News that Texas soldiers were preventing agents from entering and praised Abbott for taking matters into his own hands.
“Governor Abbott is not harming Border Patrol operations, he is improving them,” National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd said in a statement. “His seizure of control of Shelby Park allows our officers to deploy to problem locations experiencing high numbers of escapes. Governor Abbott's actions should be viewed as a force multiplier.”
The dramatic move marks the latest escalation in a dispute between the state of Texas and the federal government over how to handle the unprecedented crisis, which has left both Texas and cities across the country overwhelmed.
Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021 to increase resources and law enforcement at the border. As part of that operation, he installed a buoyed border barrier in the Rio Grande, prompting a lawsuit from the federal government that could soon reach the Supreme Court.
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Migrants who crossed into the United States from Mexico encounter barbed wire along the Rio Grande on September 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Separately, the Biden administration has sued Texas over a recently signed anti-illegal immigration law that allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants, which the administration says interferes with the authority of the federal government and frustrates United States immigration operations and procedures, and harms relationships with foreign governments.
Meanwhile, Texas has sued the administration for cutting and destroying razor wire installed by Texas to stop illegal crossings. That cable has been installed in areas very close to Shelby Park. The lawsuit is ongoing and the administration is currently unable to cut the cord.
“We believe that Governor Abbott's policies and political tricks are not safe, they are not safe for the communities of Texas and our CBP, our police on the ground who are trying to do their job. It endangers them, and it dehumanizes them and demonizes immigrants. That's what his political tricks accomplish,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last month.
Abbott's office has dismissed criticism leveled at him by the federal government, instead accusing the administration of fueling the crisis with “open border policies.”
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“Texas is holding the line at our southern border with miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb barriers to deter and repel the record levels of illegal immigration sparked by President Biden's reckless open border policies. Instead of enforcing the federal immigration laws, the Biden administration allows unrestricted access to Mexican cartels to smuggle people into our country,” Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze said Thursday.
“Texas will continue to deploy Texas National Guard soldiers, DPS officers and more barriers, using all tools and strategies to respond to President Biden's ongoing border crisis.”
Texas has also upset “sanctuary” cities across the country with a pattern of busing migrants to those cities in an effort to relieve overwhelmed border communities. Abbott announced this week that he has already sent more than 100,000 immigrants to those cities.
Abbott's latest move in Shelby Park won immediate support from some Texas conservatives.
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“The Governor has my full support in going as far as necessary (from a legal perspective) to secure the Texas border,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Fox News' Louis Casiano and Casey Stegall contributed to this report.
