Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated the measure is about strengthening deterrents for migrants making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas state authorities have taken control of a public park fronting the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, a southern border town that saw a massive spike in illegal crossings last month.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas said officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) informed him on Wednesday morning that state authorities are “taking full control” of the park as part of an operation to combat unprecedented illegal border crossings.
“This is not something that we wanted,” Mr. Salinas said in a video live-streamed from Shelby Park on Facebook. “This is not something that we asked for as a city. I want to make that clear.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, indicated that the measure is about strengthening deterrents for migrants making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“As caravans of migrants are moving through Mexico toward the U.S. border, we are making clear that Texas will be a tough place to cross,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.
Two military vehicles can be seen in the video from Wednesday night, standing guard behind a newly erected gate blocking public access to the park.
Mr. Abbott signed a disaster declaration in 2021, launching Operation Lone Star in response to the Biden administration’s border policies, which critics have described as misguided and lax.
“They’re using that declaration to take full control, custody of Shelby Park,” the mayor said, noting that it comes after thousands of migrants illegally crossed the border into the United States at Eagle Pas last month.
The influx of illegal immigrants in December prompted the Biden administration to action, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) temporarily suspending operations at international railway crossing bridges in two Texas cities.
Footage on social media showed a long line of immigrants at the Eagle Pass crossing. The U.S. Border Patrol said on Dec. 15 that over the past couple of weeks, it had encountered “continuous groups of migrants led by misinformation making illegal entry into the United States.”
