A heartbreaking scene unfolded near Eagle Pass park when a woman and two children drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande. The tragedy has brought to light a conflict between state and federal officials after Texas troopers denied U.S. Border Patrol agents access to the park, which has been commandeered by state officers and National Guard members since the beginning of the week.
According to a statement by U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar on KENS5, soldiers from the Texas Military Department, who were contacted by Border Patrol agents barred at the park's entrance, stated that they would not grant access "even in the event of an emergency" and would instead send a soldier to investigate the situation.The decision proved fateful as three migrants lost their lives, with Mexican authorities recovering the bodies Saturday morning.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), troubled by these events, condemned the state's actions. "We remain gravely concerned by actions that prevent the U.S. Border Patrol from performing their essential missions of arresting individuals who enter the United States unlawfully and providing humanitarian response to individuals in need," a CBP spokesperson explained to The Texas Tribune.
Amidst these tensions, the Texas Department of Public Safety has fortified the park, erecting concertina wire and fencing, thereby closing off public access, a move that Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas revealed earlier this week was contrary to city officials' wishes. This fortification has disrupted the routine operations of Border Patrol agents who once used the park to launch their boats and stage the inspection of apprehended migrants. The conflict has brought to attention the escalating measures of the state to block federal enforcement capabilities, encapsulated in a court filing to the Supreme Court by Elizabeth B. Prelogar, solicitor general for the Department of Justice: "Texas' new actions since the government's filing demonstrate an escalation of the state's measures to block Border Patrol's ability to patrol or even to surveil the border and be in a position to respond to emergencies" as stated by KENS5.
The area around Eagle Pass has been a focal point for Governor Abbott's immigration enforcement efforts, seeing a surge in the number of migrants attempting to cross the border, with several injuries reported due to the state-deployed concertina wire along the Rio Grande banks.
