Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday took control of a public park in a border city plagued by illegal immigrants without warning, the mayor claimed Thursday.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas said that as part of Abbott's state of emergency to combat the immigration crisis, the state has taken over Shelby Park and erected a fence barring residents from entering without notice. Ta.
Shelby Park, which borders the Rio Grande, is flooded with migrants making the treacherous river crossing into Texas.
“This is not a decision we agreed to,” Salinas said in an impassioned speech Thursday.
“This is not what we wanted. This is not what we asked for as a city.”
On Wednesday night, the entrance had already been blocked off with a fence and a military truck was parked inside, video shows. Salinas shared the show.
Salinas said the Texas Department of Public Safety told Eagle Pass officials that the state was taking over 50 acres of public parkland through a disaster declaration, a power that Texas officials have previously used at the border. .
In addition to reportedly not providing a timeline, the state has also not said how long it expects to maintain control of the park. That means many events and festivals scheduled for spring may be cancelled.
“They will deny access,” Salinas said. “Again, this is not the City of Eagle Pass denying access to the park. This is the state taking advantage of that state of emergency.”
A spokesperson for Mr. Abbott did not respond to questions about whether the notice was sent without prior warning.
“Texas will continue to deploy the Texas National Guard, DPS troops and more barriers, leveraging all tools and strategies available to President Biden to respond to the ongoing border crisis,” said press secretary Renae. Eze said in a statement.
The Department of Public Safety referred questions to the Texas Department of Military Affairs, which did not respond to a request for comment.
A message left for Salinas was not immediately returned.
The mayor said he was considering all legal options to fight the takeover.
Salinas is not only furious about the state's takeover of the city's land, but also questions why the move is being taken at a time when Mexico has tightened security and ramped up deportations of immigrants, and illegal immigration has fallen this week. It showed.
The number of people arrested for illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico has fallen from more than 10,000 on several days in December to about 2,500 on Monday, U.S. authorities said.
Salinas said about 400 to 500 people are worried each day.
Just last month, Eagle Pass is a hub for illegal immigration, with thousands of people crossing the border during the summer.
In response to the surge, Mr. Abbott renewed his state of emergency, saying, “The surge in the number of individuals illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border poses a continuing and imminent threat of disaster.”
