HIGH NOON AT THE RIO
Tense as Texas keeps 'no entry' despite fed heat
Tensions between federal officials and Texas authorities continued to build Friday over access to the hotly disputed border area in Eagle Pass, which migrants had been using to cross into the US illegally by the thousands.
Also Friday, Customs and Border Protection released its operational figures for December — showing a record 302,034 encounters along the southern border in December, a stark indication the migrant crisis is not slowing down.
Gov. Greg Abbott had marched state troops into Shelby Park on Jan. 11 and erected fences, barriers and razor wire on the banks of the Rio Grande, which serves as the border with Mexico, in a bid to deter people from crossing.
The takeover has been challenged by the Department of Homeland Security, which claimed federal officers need access to the area and demanded for it to be cleared by Friday.
Four National Guard members at the gate entrance to Shelby Park told The Post they hadn’t seen any federal authorities at the park despite the deadline to relinquish control at 1 p.m. local time.
“They haven’t approached us, and we haven’t seen anyone from Border Patrol or anywhere like that,” one of the guards told The Post, before the others agreed.
The armed guard stood at the entrance to the park Friday afternoon, letting in officials and members of the public, who are allowed to access the golf course within the 47-acre park grounds.
However, the banks of the river are off-limits and heavily fortified with numerous coils of razor wire and patrolled by Texas National Guard troops. Shipping containers also remained in place at the edge of the river to stop people crossing.
An adviser to Abbott on the border crisis confirmed the deployment of additional resources from the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public safety on Friday. Mike Banks wrote on X: “[We] continue to step up and deploy personnel and resources to hold the line. We are grateful for the support from our fellow Texans and Americans as we defend against Biden’s open border policies.”
Abbott has repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for allowing the influx of illegal immigrants into deluged Texas border towns.
Right to ‘repel’
He said Wednesday Texas’ right to self-defense “supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” and vowed to “continue to deploy this razor wire to repel illegal immigration.”
Biden claimed last year his administration would get tough on those attempting to cross into the US and deport anyone who crosses into the country illegally and without making an appointment with border officers first.
However, Border Patrol agents are still under orders to arrest and process hundreds of thousands of people caught crossing illegally each month then release them into the US to pursue asylum claims.
Figures released Friday by Border Patrol admitted they had deported fewer than 500,000 people in the eight months between May and the end of the year, less than one in five of the total number of migrants encountered at the southern border in 2023. In the 2023 fiscal year, more encounters were recorded on the southern border than any other year since the government began keeping those records in 1960 — with an estimated total of 2.4 million.
Migrants crossing the Rio Grande often massed in Shelby Park. Blockading the area, Abbott maintains, serves as an effective deterrent. Federal officials have blasted Abbott for impeding their access to the area, arguing they’re unable to render emergency aid to migrants in need.