The Texas National Guard has taken control of a public park where illegal immigrants have surged across the border amid the state’s ongoing feud with the Biden administration over the border crisis.
Texas started restricting federal officials’s access into Shelby Park in Eagle Pass this week, reportedly saying they were taking control because federal immigration officials “perpetuate illegal crossings.” The action comes as the Biden administration has attempted to remove barbed wire put up by Texas in the park to prevent crossings.
“The Texas National Guard has maintained a presence with security points and temporary barrier in Shelby Park since 2021. The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area,” the Texas Military Department said in a statement.
According to Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, Texas had set up razor wire and fences at the park “to block the area off from the public and federal government.”
Republican Governor Greg Abbott said the efforts were due to President Joe Biden’s handling of the border and that his state was going to make it clear to caravans of foreign nationals headed to the United States that Texas would be a difficult place to enter.
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. https://t.co/G4LJfKfiK3
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 12, 2024
“Texas is holding the line at our southern border with miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb barriers to deter and repel the record-high levels of illegal immigration invited by President Biden’s reckless open border policies,” spokeswoman Renea Eze said. “Instead of enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden administration allows unfettered access for Mexican cartels to smuggle people into our country.”
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The Department of Homeland Security said in a legal filing that Texas had started restricting access to the park on Wednesday. The filing asks the Supreme Court to immediate rule against Texas and give full authority over Shelby Park to the federal government.
“Beginning around 8:00 p.m., Central Time, on January 10, 2024, Border Patrol was denied access to an approximately 2.5 mile stretch of border, inclusive of Shelby Park and stretching south. Texas National Guard (TNG) established fencing and concertina wire, and is blocking access to of Shelby Park and blocking entrances through federally owned and maintained border barriers with armed soldiers,” the filing, part of the DHS lawsuit against Texas over the barbed wire, said.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. said he was not expecting the action from Texas.
“So, right now, there’s military personnel and they put gates in Shelby Park blocking access from the public into the park that belongs to the city,” he said. “The state, through Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency declaration, has custody of the park.”