In 1865, Confederate General John Shelby threw his flag into the waters of the Rio Grande in the small border town of Eagle Pass and crossed the border into Mexico, seeking refuge rather than admit defeat of his troops. Today, Eagle Pass has become the epicenter of a tough battle with constitutional implications, pitting the federal government against the Texas government over immigration control. to National Guard soldiers at the Border Patrol; to the Republicans with the Democrats. And all of these conflicts come together at one point: in the 19-hectare park on the banks of the Rio Grande that honors the secession soldier with his name.
Shelby Park was once a place where residents of Eagle Pass, a city of 28,000 that votes Democratic, made a living from trade with Mexico — two bridges connect it to Piedras Negras — and where as much or more Spanish was spoken than English . , they came to fish, to picnic and celebrate or to go for a walk. This weekend, a poster announces a Feb. 28 concert of half-musical, half-religious preaching by the association led by the late Rev. Billy Graham, spiritual adviser to several presidents. From today's perspective it is difficult to celebrate.
Barbed wire and a wall of containers block access to the river. The entrances from the street are fenced and blocked by military vehicles. National Guard soldiers armed with machine guns control access and the only ramp for boats and kayaks to the river. Residents are not allowed access; And under orders from Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott, a Republican, Border Patrol agents who until last month used those areas as a processing point for the arrival of immigrants crossing the river are no longer allowed to do so either. With this decision, the previous joint cooperation between both committees was abolished.
“And all of this catches us in the middle,” sighs Juan Hernández, who runs a clothing and shoe store a few hundred meters away. The park's blockade has turned this area – until recently very busy due to its proximity to Shelby and the border post – into an almost ghostly area, with local police and their vehicles outnumbering civilian traffic this weekend. “This is damaging our economy,” complains the retailer, who announces drastic price reductions for the sale of the goods. “But what scares us even more is that there could be an incident where someone loses control.”
The current confrontation erupted last month when Abbott ordered the National Guard to take control of Shelby Park after a spike in irregular immigration to those areas in December. President Joe Biden's administration appealed that decision to the courts, arguing that it prevented the Border Patrol, which is under federal control, from doing its job. In mid-January, barbed wire fences and other obstacles prevented those agents from rescuing a migrant family of three who eventually drowned, the government claims.
The Supreme Court agreed and ordered the removal of the barbed wire fences. But the governor has interpreted the ruling in the narrowest way possible: Border officials could cut the border to help a migrant in danger. But in the meantime, he promises to reinforce the fences and wires. His argument: The federal government's policies favor migrants to the point of endangering Texas, and the state has the right to defend itself against what he defines as an “invasion.”
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The case has led to a political confrontation that goes beyond the mere conflict between a central government and a state government. Other states, such as Florida, have sent soldiers from their own National Guard to reinforce Texas's. This weekend, a vehicle caravan of supporters of Republican candidate Donald Trump arrived near Eagle Pass after traveling halfway across the country to show their support for anti-immigrant policies. Abbott himself appeared in Eagle Pass this Sunday to defend his policies at a press conference, along with 14 of the 25 Republican governors who had expressed support for him. Something that made a part of the population uncomfortable.
“As a long-time resident, I have never been more upset with a leader than I am with our governor and what he is doing and how he is using our community in particular for political theater,” retired businessman and educator Jesse Fuentes said in a press conference on Friday community leader. “They have appropriated a public park, our park, our history, our culture. This is where we gather, it is our green space where we are connected to the river and now we no longer have access to it. And if you take a walk and look, you can see that this is becoming a military base.”
Local Eagle Pass police are blocking the access road to Shelby Park amid fears of unrest this weekend.Macarena Vidal Liy
Others in Texas think differently. “We are here to support this cause and Governor Abbott. We believe you are doing the right thing. We must take back control of our borders. We don't have to let millions of migrants come. When we vote in November, immigration will be our top priority. The second is the right to bear arms,” say David and Sandy, a couple who drove three hours this Saturday to attend the rally welcoming the xenophobic Trumpist caravan.
That day, the Mission: Border Hope immigration shelter temporarily closed its doors. Fearing possible incidents, it had shifted its residents to other locations. The transfer wasn't difficult: there was only room for a handful of people. The number of migrants seeking help released by the Border Patrol with a summons to appear in court to adjudicate their asylum claims reached 1,200 per day, currently down to about 20, a decline in line with the decline in irregular entries recorded in January, Abbott said to its severity and the federal government and NGOs attribute it to typical seasonal fluctuations.
Abbott's opposition comes as a group of Republican and Democratic senators in Washington have agreed on a bill that would reform the current immigration system and introduce tougher screening measures. Among other things, they would give Biden the authority to “close the border,” as he himself has declared, if more than 8,500 illegal migrants are discovered in a single day or an average of 5,000 are registered daily in a week. The measure would also make it harder to seek asylum in the United States, which is why most migrants who arrive irregularly enter this country.
However, the success of this bill remains to be seen. In the Senate he needs the “yes” vote of nine Republicans. In an election year, Republican lawmakers are reluctant to approve anything that could be construed as a win for Biden. Donald Trump, the former Republican president who wants to return to the White House in November, opposes the measure and plans to make migration the main issue of the campaign. The President of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has already assured that the senators' proposal was “stillborn” in this forum. Republicans in the House have begun the process of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary and immigration chief Alejandro Mayorkas.
The conversations continue. And diplomatic negotiations are intensifying. This Saturday, Biden spoke by phone with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to talk about migration and “the common challenges at the common border,” according to a statement from the White House. The dialogue, in which the American thanked his counterpart for “the operational support and taking concrete steps to prevent irregular migration while expanding legal channels,” came after representatives of both governments met in Mexico and Washington over the past two months to delve deeper into this matter.
Meanwhile, Eagle Pass residents hope the standoff between the federal and state governments will be resolved as quickly as possible. “We want to move on with our lives,” Juan Hernández half-smiles as he encourages his customers to take advantage of his store’s sales.
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