By JAMIE STENGLE and VALERIE GONZALEZ (Associated Press)
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — After Texas fenced off a park alongside the U.S.-Mexico border and commenced turning away Border Patrol brokers, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott defined why at a marketing campaign cease close to Houston.
“We are not allowing Border Patrol on that property anymore,” Abbott mentioned Friday, drawing applause from supporters whereas endorsing a state legislator operating for reelection. He relayed frustration over migrants illegally getting into the U.S. by the border metropolis of Eagle Pass and federal brokers loading them onto buses.
“We said, ‘We’ve had it. We’re not going to let this happen anymore,’” Abbott mentioned.
Later that evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security mentioned three migrants, together with two kids, drowned close to the park after Texas officers “physically barred” Border Patrol brokers from getting into. Mexican authorities pulled the our bodies, every of them sporting jackets, from the water on the opposite aspect of the Rio Grande.
The weekend deaths intensified tensions between Texas and the Biden administration. They additionally unleashed a brand new spherical of criticism from Democrats over Abbott’s aggressive actions to curb unlawful crossings, accusing the measures of placing migrants in danger. U.S. authorities described the drownings as underscoring the necessity for Border Patrol brokers to have entry to the world round Shelby Park, which Texas closed off earlier this week.
“U.S. Border Patrol must have access to the border to enforce our laws,” White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández mentioned in an announcement.
On Sunday night, the Texas Military Department launched an announcement disputing the U.S. authorities’s accounts, calling it “wholly inaccurate” that state personnel prevented Border Patrol from saving drowning migrants.
“At the time that Border Patrol requested access, the drownings had occurred, Mexican authorities were recovering the bodies, and Border Patrol expressed these facts to the TMD personnel on site,” the division mentioned.
The Biden administration caught to its preliminary account Sunday, saying in a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that Texas denied Border Patrol brokers entry earlier than they knew the migrants died. In a direct contradiction of Texas’ model of occasions, Homeland Security mentioned brokers on the time knew solely that migrants had been making an attempt to cross the river.
“Texas has demonstrated that even in the most exigent circumstances, it will not allow Border Patrol agents access to the border to conduct law enforcement and emergency response activities,” wrote Jonathan E. Meyer, Homeland Security’s normal counsel.
Meyer threatened authorized motion if Texas doesn’t restore entry by the tip of Wednesday.
The park lies in a serious hall for migrants getting into illegally from Mexico and is on the heart of Abbott’s aggressive makes an attempt to cease them, often called Operation Lone Star. Migrants are periodically swept away to their deaths by the present of the Rio Grande.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents a Texas border district, acknowledged Sunday that state officers investigated the misery name and looked for the migrants.
“However, the bottom line is that Border Patrol was barred from entering Shelby Park,” Cuellar mentioned in an announcement.
Texas officers mentioned Border Patrol brokers had requested entry to seek out different migrants who had been presumed to have been with those that died. Two had been apprehended by state navy personnel, together with one who was transferred to medics with “hypothermic conditions.” The assertion didn’t say whether or not Border Patrol brokers had been allowed within the park.
Over the summer season, 1000’s of individuals had been crossing illegally into the U.S. by Eagle Pass. The numbers subsided however once more rose in December when 1000’s of migrants overwhelmed federal assets. But a pointy lower was famous at the beginning of January after Mexico stepped up immigration enforcement.
The 50-acre (20-hectare) park is owned by the town, however it’s utilized by the state Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department to patrol border crossings. Earlier this week, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas questioned why the state closed the park now, since every day apprehensions within the area have fallen in latest weeks. He mentioned the state gave metropolis officers no warning and provided no timetable on when the park would reopen.
On Friday, the Justice Department instructed the U.S. Supreme Court that Texas had taken management of Shelby Park and was not letting Border Patrol brokers enter. Texas acknowledged seizing the town park however instructed the court docket the the federal authorities had mischaracterized its actions and that it was attempting to resolve any disputes over entry.
Texas has come underneath recurring scrutiny over efforts to curb border crossings. Abbott has despatched greater than 100,000 migrants on buses to Democratic-led cities, whilst frigid situations set in through the winter. He additionally has strung up razor wire on the border and put in buoy boundaries on the Rio Grande.
Melissa R. Cigarroa, a metropolis council member in Laredo and member of the No Border Wall Coalition, was amongst those that attended a vigil Saturday at Shelby Park to mark the deaths of migrants who’ve died alongside the Rio Grande. She mentioned attendees handed by a gate with armed National Guard members and that they might see might see regulation enforcement officers and automobiles gathered close to the river.
She mentioned that scene, coupled with the rationale for the ceremony, left her desirous about “just how little people’s lives matter in these decisions.”
“People are dying, and we know now that deterrents mean nothing,” she mentioned.
___ Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press journalists Paul J. Weber in Austin and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this story.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”