Tensions between federal and Texas authorities continued to rise Friday over access to the hotly contested border area of Eagle Pass, which thousands of migrants have used to illegally enter the United States. .
On the same day, Customs and Border Protection released its December operational statistics, showing record numbers. 302,034 encounters along the southwest border December provided clear evidence that the migrant crisis is unabated.
Gov. Greg Abbott marched the National Guard into Shelby Park on Jan. 11 and installed fences, barriers and razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande, which forms the border with Mexico, to prevent people from crossing.
The occupation is being contested by the Department of Homeland Security, which says federal agents need access to the area and has asked for an end to the area by Friday.
Four National Guardsmen at the gated entrance to Shelby Park told the Post they saw no federal agents in the park, even though the deadline for relinquishing control was 1 p.m. local time.
“They haven’t come close to us and we haven’t seen anyone from the Border Patrol or anything like that,” one guard told the Post before the other agreed.
On Friday afternoon, armed guards stood at the entrance to the park, allowing officials and members of the public to enter the golf course on the 47-acre park grounds.
But the river's banks are cordoned off, heavily fortified with numerous coils of razor wire, and patrolled by the Texas National Guard.
Shipping containers also remained at the river's edge to prevent people from crossing.
Mr. Abbott's advisers on the border crisis confirmed Friday the deployment of additional resources from the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Mike Banks wrote about X:”[We] We continue to strengthen and deploy personnel and resources to hold the line. We are grateful for the support from our fellow Texans and Americans. [President] Biden's open borders policy. ”
Mr. Abbott has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of allowing illegal immigrants to flow into Texas border towns that have been hit by massive flooding.
He said Wednesday that Texas' right to self-defense “trumps any federal law to the contrary” and vowed to “continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”
Mr. Biden last year asserted that his administration would take tough measures against people trying to enter the United States and would deport those who entered the country illegally without first making an appointment with border agents.
But Border Patrol agents are still under orders to arrest, process and release hundreds of thousands of people caught in the country illegally each month into the United States to pursue asylum claims.
Figures released by the Border Patrol on Friday show it expelled fewer than 500,000 people in the eight months from May to the end of the year, or 1 in 5 of the total number of migrants encountered at the Southwest border in 2023. admitted that it was not sufficient.
Fiscal year 2023 saw the most recorded encounters on the southern border since the government began keeping records in 1960, with an estimated total of 2.4 million people.
Immigrants crossing the Rio Grande often gathered at Shelby Park. Abbott argues that sealing off the area would be an effective deterrent.
Federal officials have accused Mr. Abbott of blocking access to the region and saying they are unable to provide emergency aid to migrants in need.
Mr. Abbott's position was strengthened by formal support from 25 Republican governors across the United States who expressed support for Texas' “constitutional right to self-defense.”
“We stand united with our fellow Governor Greg Abbott and the State of Texas in leveraging all tools and strategies, including razor wire fencing, to secure our borders.” statement Published by the Republican Governors Association.
Last month, the Justice Department threatened to sue Texas if it implements a new state law in March that allows local authorities to arrest, imprison, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants.
Raul Villanueva, 69, an Eagle Pass resident and taxi driver, told The Post Friday that there has been a drop in migrants crossing the border since Gov. Abbott enacted the Shelby Park policy.
“They're stuck in Mexico…Now they don't want to cross the border because they know they'll be arrested.”
But Villanueva warned that this bottleneck won't last forever, predicting that the cartels that decide who can cross where on the Mexican side of the border will try to flood the border again. .
“The reality is, any time they say, 'OK, you can come,' we're going to be in big trouble,” he added.
