Texas fences off public park in Eagle Pass without notifying local authorities

Texas authorities took control of a riverside park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday, preventing a Texas National Guard Humvee from accessing the facility.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas received a call from Victor Escalon, South Texas Regional Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), who said authorities were occupying the 47-acre Shelby Park, but the action was not approved by the city. He said he was informed that it had been carried out without permission.

Straddling the Rio Grande and occupying space under a local bridge, the park is used for a series of community events and sports, and is also used as a parking lot for nearby businesses, including a flea market.

However, it is also the focus of attention as regional migration continues at unprecedented levels.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) toured the region last week with 64 House Republicans, including Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas), who represents Eagle Pass, and spoke to the Biden administration regarding the border situation. criticized.

Under Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star, Shelby Park has previously served as a hub for efforts such as installing razor wire and buoy barriers in the river.

The Texas government had access to the park from June 2022 to August 2023, according to the report. Reported by Texas Public Radiobecause Salinas signed an affidavit declaring the area to be private property.

This allowed DPS to enforce trespass laws within the park. According to Eagle Pass Business Journal.

In August, Eagle Pass revoked its affidavit and returned control of the park to the city.

But at a news conference Thursday, Salinas said DPS and the Texas National Guard are currently blocking civilians, city employees and Border Patrol agents from entering the park. According to the Dallas Morning News.

Officials at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Border Patrol's parent agency, did not respond to requests for comment.

The seizures are part of a pattern under Operation Lone Star in which Texas is overstepping its bounds in enforcing immigration laws, a power widely understood to be constitutionally limited to the federal government.

Last week, on the same day that Johnson led a Republican tour of Eagle Pass, the Justice Department sued Texas over a new immigration law that would allow police to arrest people suspected of being in Texas without prior authorization. woke up.

Abbot spokeswoman Renae Eze told The Hill that Texas' efforts are unabated.

“Texas is closing its southern border with miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb fencing to deter and repel record levels of illegal immigration caused by President Biden's reckless open border policies. “Instead of enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration is allowing unfettered access for Mexican cartels to smuggle people into our country,” Eze said.

“Texas will continue to deploy the Texas National Guard, DPS troops, and more barriers as President Biden leverages all tools and strategies to respond to the ongoing border crisis.”