In an effort to reduce illegal border crossings, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) ordered Texas troopers to seize control of a public Eagle Pass park overnight, defying the wishes of city officials.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas said the Texas Department of Public Safety informed him on Wednesday morning that the state received an emergency declaration from Abbott to take “full control, custody” of Shelby Park.
“That is not a decision that we agreed to. This is not something that we wanted. This is not something that we asked for as a city,” Salinas said in a Facebook video post Wednesday evening. The video shows the Texas National Guard fencing off the park from the public.
Salinas said the city administration and council were informed of the situation by DPS, and the city’s legal team is reviewing the case to “make sure everything is being done in a legal manner.”
When Salinas asked DPS why the state was seizing the park, they said, “The mission is to prevent undocumented people from crossing into Eagle Pass.”
The 47.4-acre park lines the banks of the Rio Grande, and it is normally open to the public to hold community events and gatherings. However, Shelby Park has become a staging area for Texas DPS and the National Guard, acting on behalf of Operation Lone Star, an initiative passed two years ago to curb the flow of immigrants into the state.
Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze cited the governor’s 2021 emergency declaration, renewed in December, which empowers him to suspend state laws while the migrant crisis continues.
“Texas will continue to deploy Texas National Guard soldiers, DPS troopers, and more barriers, utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to President Biden’s ongoing border crisis,” Eze told The Texas Tribune.
Eagle Pass has reported a record number of migrant crossings, quickly becoming one of the most heavily trafficked sections of the U.S.-Mexico border. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and dozens of Republicans visited the area last week, threatening to withhold financial aid for Ukraine or Israel unless the border is secured.
On Thursday, Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello III testified to Congress about the impact the migrant crisis is having on the state’s public services, especially the fire department.
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“We are being overwhelmed with EMS calls and body recoveries,” Mello told the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee. “In my 33 years of service, I have not experienced this many calls. There are days it seems that the ambulance wails never stop.”
“Going to the river or areas along the river’s edge where the crossings are frequent has become a norm for us with little or no help from anyone, not even the federal government,” he added.
