With assault rifles in hand and surrounded by Humvee armored vehicles and state police, a group of National Guardsmen in full riot gear stands menacingly near a gate beneath a 20-foot-tall reinforced steel fence.
With the endless conflict along America's southern border a few hundred yards away, it's not an unexpected sight in this tough border town.
But these troops are not facing Mexico. Instead, they stare back at the Texas town of Eagle Pass — and the rest of America.
Because this particular demonstration of military strength is not intended to send a signal to the hordes of asylum seekers who are pouring into the country week after week. Rather, it's about preventing the Biden administration's federal law enforcement agencies from getting anywhere near it.
Migrants cross the Rio Grande border from Piedras Negras, Mexico
National Guard soldiers guard the banks of the Rio Grande in Shelby Park
Dramatic photos show the moment migrants cross the Rio Grande
In an extraordinary development that illustrates both the intense political polarization of the United States and the growing resentment over America's immigration crisis, an armed confrontation broke out between the Texas National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol in this proudly independent corner of the country.
The remarkable scenes the Mail observed follow a highly provocative decision this month by Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott to order armed troops and police to take control of the 47-acre Shelby Park at Eagle Pass – a major one Entry Point for Undocumented Migrants – and Freeze the Border Patrol. Since Biden's election, Abbott has criticized Democrats for doing much to fuel the migration crisis.
During his campaign, the president promised “restoration.” [America’s] moral standing in the world and our historical role as a safe haven for refugees and asylum seekers”: music to the ears of left-wing voters and, fatally, potential immigrants.
Instead of sneaking into the U.S. and hiding, most migrants know their first step is to find a border patrol agent and apply for asylum.
They are then processed quickly and handed over to the care of a non-governmental organization. They can legally stay and work in the US until their application is decided – a process that often takes years.
Migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are being referred for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The migrants, mostly from Venezuela, then wait on the banks of the U.S. side of the river until Border Patrol arrives to cut through the barbed wire fence erected by Texas National Guard soldiers
National Guardsmen in boats and airboats and barbed wire along the banks are trying to keep migrants from crossing the Rio Grande and entering the United States
When the floodgates opened, Eagle Pass, a small town of just 28,000 residents, became the focal point of the migrant influx.
In the week before Christmas alone, the local border guard arrested more than 22,000 illegal migrants, most of them from Latin America.
Many were held in a field in Shelby Park and were overwhelmed by local police, fire and emergency medical services. The already cash-strapped city lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue when one of two economically important bridges into Mexico was closed to release more border officials.
A few months earlier, Abbott had ordered that a 1,000-foot-long series of buoys separated by jagged metal plates resembling circular saw blades be installed near Eagle Pass in the Rio Grande, the river that marks the border submerged mesh net carrying between Texas and Mexico. The move sparked outrage from the Mexican government and human rights groups.
Then, just over two weeks ago, Abbott took what many viewed as the nuclear option and decided to impose his views at the barrel of a gun.
National Guardsmen occupied Shelby Park overnight and began reinforcing fortifications against both migrants and federal agents, against the wishes of the city that owns the park.
When the floodgates opened, Eagle Pass, a small town of just 28,000 residents, became the focal point of the migrant influx
Migrants are lined up by border patrol officers on the banks of the Rio Grande after crossing the border into Eagle Pass
Migrants who have crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are being referred for processing
When the Texas Military Department announced that it would take over the park indefinitely to prevent the entry of asylum seekers and “block organizations that perpetuate illegal immigration crossings,” it left little doubt that these were the hapless authorities of the Biden administration acted.
As commander in chief of the 18,000-man Texas Army National Guard — and, in emergencies, the state police — Abbott was able to flood the 2.5-mile section of the park along the river with manpower and hardware such as searchlights and cameras.
He has refused entry to border guards, even though the federal agency is tasked with monitoring the border. The park was once used as an important stay area for migrants.
The park has been closed to everyone else, except, strangely, golf course members who are still allowed to play.
More than 150 years ago, a dispute over slavery between Southern states and the federal government ultimately resulted in the horrific American Civil War, which lasted four years and cost the lives of at least 620,000 soldiers.
In this conflict, Texas sided with the Confederate rebels against Washington. And while the current standoff has not yet turned violent, some say Abbott — who shares the Civil War allies' obsession with states' rights — is playing with fire.
In the week before Christmas alone, the local border guard arrested more than 22,000 illegal migrants, most of them from Latin America
Although state police currently arrest adults for trespassing — families are spared because the children cannot be arrested — they still must turn them over to Border Patrol agents
For migrants trying to cross the border, it is now a matter of luck whether they encounter the Federal Border Patrol or the Texas units that wear similar uniforms and travel around in similar boats
Last week, the Mail received permission to enter the park and was given a tour by the Texas National Guard, who demonstrated their fearsome river defenses. A wall of shipping containers already stands, but the concertina wire on top can easily be overcome by migrants, I'm told. So the guardsmen are now replacing this with three rows of even nastier-looking barbed wire.
Work continued apace despite the Supreme Court's ruling just the day before that border guards could cut the wire, saying it threatened security and hampered efforts to rescue migrants struggling in the river.
Meanwhile, the National Guard and state police are patrolling the Rio Grande in inflatable boats and fan-powered airboats – reinforced by Florida police units borrowed from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who agrees with Abbott on immigration.
She and her colleagues on land give asylum seekers a less than friendly welcome.
Although state police currently arrest adults for trespassing — families are spared because the children cannot be arrested — they still must turn them over to Border Patrol agents.
However, Abbott just passed a controversial law that makes crossing the border illegally a state crime, punishable by up to six months in prison. The law allows a judge to drop charges if a migrant agrees to return to Mexico.
A mother comforts her daughter as she is detained by Border Patrol after wading across the Rio Grande River into Eagle Pass
The river is shallow but treacherous, with strong currents that have often resulted in migrants drowning. The Eagle Pass fire chief estimates that 30 bodies are removed from the river each month
Outraged Democrats claim the new law is unconstitutional because immigration enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction. So another court battle is looming – but the governor and his supporters are undeterred.
“We want migrants to apply for asylum, but we want them to do so legally and safely,” a National Guard sergeant told me.
The alarming developments in Texas are a prime example for other countries, including Britain, of how local politicians can lose patience with a seemingly indifferent central government at the end of a worsening migration crisis.
America's illegal migration problem dwarfs that of Britain: While nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in 2023 (although many hundreds of thousands entered legally), US federal border agents recorded 302,000 encounters with migrants along the Mexican border in December alone.
The total during the entire Biden presidency is more than eight million, although the number also includes people who have been arrested more than once. Republicans have called for a higher hurdle for migrant asylum seekers and a change to the process so applicants can be rejected before they have settled in America.
Eagle Pass has historically been a mecca for migrants for two main reasons: it is near the terminus of a major Mexican railroad (large groups of migrants hitchhike on freight trains); and the Rio Grande, with the Mexican state of Coahuila on the other side, is usually no higher than waist high here.
The river is shallow but treacherous, with strong currents that have often resulted in migrants drowning. The Eagle Pass fire chief estimates that 30 bodies are removed from the river each month.
A child is held in the air as migrants are rounded up by the US National Guard
The White House counters that Abbott is “politicizing the border,” “demonizing and dehumanizing” migrants and “making it more difficult and dangerous for Border Patrol to do their jobs.”
For migrants trying to cross the border, it is now a matter of luck whether they encounter the Federal Border Patrol or the Texas units that wear similar uniforms and travel around in similar boats.
Although the flow has dwindled in recent weeks, I watched a family of three – the father holding a small child on his shoulders – move from the public park that runs along the river in neighboring Piedras into the 328-foot-wide Rio Grande waded Negro.
Two National Guard motorboats rushed to intercept them, and after a brief exchange in which they were told to turn back, they reluctantly returned to shore – no doubt to try again.
A few miles outside of town, we found a group of about 50 migrants being led to buses by Border Patrol, leaving behind a pile of wet clothes, shoes and teddy bears that had been discarded after crossing the river.
Greeting asylum seekers with guns, armored cars, and barbed wire is the kind of hard-nosed Texan behavior that Davy Crockett and his comrades—who defended the Alamo from the Mexican army nearly 200 years ago, 140 miles to the north—would no doubt have applauded.
In fact, Abbott dubbed his anti-immigration campaign launched in 2021 “Operation Lone Star” in homage to his state’s nickname and its go-it-alone spirit.
Earlier this month, senior Border Patrol officials accused the Texas National Guard of drowning three migrants – a woman and two children – after they denied federal officials access to Shelby Park to launch a rescue boat.
Migrants walk near the river after crossing the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass in Texas
Border Patrol chiefs later admitted that the trio had actually already died by the time they received a distress call from Mexico – but insisted that Texas troops had prevented federal agents from reaching two other migrants struggling in the river.
They were rescued by a Mexican boat and were found to be suffering from hypothermia.
Biden officials also complain that migrants are being hurt by the Texas barbed wire.
Some warn that a showdown is inevitable because Texas cannot legally block federal authorities in this way unless Abbott backs down.
“We are talking about an international border — and federal law enforcement should have access to it,” said Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University in Virginia.
“This creates a potentially dangerous situation where the Border Patrol faces armed National Guard troops, and if someone does something stupid, an unfortunate confrontation could ensue.”
Texas academic Steve Vladeck said the standoff should “scare us to death” and described it as the most serious skirmish between a state and federal government since the battle over racial segregation in the 1950s and 1960s.
Abbott blamed Biden and his “reckless open borders policies,” accusing the president of “destroying America.” The president's “deliberate inaction has left Texas on its own,” he said.
The White House counters that Abbott is “politicizing the border,” “demonizing and dehumanizing” migrants and “making it more difficult and dangerous for Border Patrol to do their jobs.”
Right now, the Biden administration is trying to use the courts to thwart Abbott's apparent challenge to her authority.
Democrats have dismissed the “occupation” of the park as an extreme political move by a Republican who loves to antagonize his opponents: He had previously sparked outrage by declaring free buses and flights to transport tens of thousands of migrants to the city by Democrats managed, more immigrant-friendly areas in cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
However, Americans of all political stripes are increasingly accepting that the country is facing an immigration crisis that is expected to become the biggest issue in this year's presidential election.
In the middle are the people of Eagle Pass, a Democratic city where 95 percent of residents are Hispanic.
Their main criticism is that, with one of the bridges closed, it now takes them at least four hours to get back to the US from a short trip across the river into Mexico.
23-year-old university student Alison Ortiz complained that many of the city's older residents want to “live in a bubble” and, despite being migrants themselves, want to limit the number of new arrivals. “Even people just 10 years older than me support what Abbott did,” she said.
Americans of all political stripes are increasingly accepting that the country is facing an immigration crisis that is expected to be the biggest issue in this year's presidential election
Photos show the moment migrants cross the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Mexico, to Eagle Pass
A 62-year-old store owner just 200 yards from Shelby Park – who declined to give his name for fear of sounding like a Republican in a Democratic city – said: “Every house has a fence to keep people out, those who want it.” push their way in. America is no different. It took three years for my parents to legally move here from Mexico, and that’s how other people should come in too.”
As his approval ratings on immigration plummet, even Biden has finally acknowledged the nightmare at the border. This month he said he was open to “massive changes” in border policy. When asked if the border was secure, he replied: “No, it is not.”
But can he act in time to prevent a Trump election victory?
If the man who has promised to build a “beautiful wall” along the entire 2,000-mile border and who calls the border surge an “invasion” returns to power, the dust-up in Eagle Pass could be the least of all migrants his problems.