Texas officials arrested migrants on suspicion of criminal trespass at a park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday night, intensifying a legal battle between Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration and escalating a standoff over border security policies.
Chris Olivarez, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said in a statement published in Xformerly known as Twitter, that Texas law enforcement officers are acting under a “disaster declaration” issued by Abbott, who has taken increasingly aggressive steps to crack down on illegal immigration along the Texas-Mexico border.
Olivarez shared videos and photographs of migrants being handcuffed and taken away by authorities. Authorities are arresting single men and women for trespassing, she said. The arrests occurred at Shelby Park, a public park in Eagle Pass that sits on the banks of the Rio Grande and has been placed under state control as part of Abbott's beefed-up border measures, sparking a broader dispute with the federal government. about access. to the area.
“The State of #Texas will maintain a proactive stance to stop illegal border crossings between ports of entry,” Olivarez wrote in the tweet.
Olivarez did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the number of arrests made and other questions about Wednesday night's arrests.
Tensions between Texas and the Biden administration over border security measures have flared in recent days. According to the federal government, Texas has blocked Border Patrol agents from accessing the 2.5-mile strip of land bordering the Rio Grande that includes Shelby Park and the surrounding area, which is restricted with fencing, wire concertina and other barriers. A migrant woman and two children drowned Friday while trying to cross the Rio Grande near the area currently closed to federal agents.
The federal government and Texas authorities dispute whether lack of access played a role in the deaths.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a cease and desist letter to the Texas prosecutor. Gen. Ken Paxton, saying Texas had until Wednesday night to stop blocking Border Patrol agents' full access to the Shelby Park area or he would refer the matter to the Department of Justice “for appropriate action” .
“Recent actions by the State of Texas have impeded Border Patrol operations,” wrote Jonathan E. Meyer, general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security. “Texas has demonstrated that even under the most demanding circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paxton issued a three-page letter Wednesday night, questioning Homeland Security's claims and saying that because “the facts and the law are on Texas' side, the State will continue to use its constitutional authority to defend its territory.”
According to Paxton's letter, Homeland Security has “a lack of understanding on the ground of what is happening at Shelby Park.”
Federal agents can access the park in the event of a medical emergency, Paxton said. Paxton also criticized what he said were the government's attempts to blame the state for recent drowning deaths, calling them “vile,” saying “that tragedy is his failure.”
The drowning deaths have further sparked a legal battle between Texas and the federal government over immigration law enforcement, a national issue that is expected to be a central feature of the 2024 election cycle.
The Biden administration has also asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter.
