Texas asks Trump administration to seize control of border islands infiltrated by cartels

Published March 31, 2025 4:25pm ET



A senior Texas official has asked the Trump administration and federal authorities at the southern border to help the state take back control of two islands in the Rio Grande that Mexican cartels have occupied.

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham asked President Donald Trump and the Border Patrol to seize a “cartel-infested” set of islands in the river that divide the United States and Mexico, which technically belong to the U.S. The islands are located near Roma, Texas.

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