‘God’s Army’ protests migrant ‘invasion’
– In trucks, vans and RVs, hundreds of people converged on Saturday in southern Texas to rally against what they say is a migrant “invasion” and to demand tough new controls at the US border with Mexico.
Scrawled on the side of one of the vehicles reaching Quemado – population 162 – were the words “Join the God Fight”.
The convoy gathered in the tiny town along the Rio Grande river, which forms the natural border between the US and Mexico, as debate swirls again about record high migrant crossings.
Hundreds of thousands of people from Central and South America, and beyond, have waded across the river in recent months. But their huge numbers have become a galvanising issue, especially ahead of the November presidential election, with Republicans in Congress blocking additional US aid to Ukraine and Israel over demands that President Joe Biden’s administration does more to stop the flow.
In Quemado this weekend, conservative activists, including a group calling itself “We the People” – the first words in the preamble to the US Constitution – met to make their anger over immigration known, rallying under the slogan “Take our border back”. One of the event’s organisers has called those massing here “God’s Army,” suggesting holy backing for their cause.
“Migration on the border is out of control,” said 43-year-old Robyn Forzano. “We’re being invaded and we have to be able to control what’s happening,” he said, echoing Republican leaders and conservative media pundits in recent weeks.
Many vehicles bore signs supporting former president Donald Trump, the Republican favourite in this election.