Texas National Guard seizes control of public park along border
Fox News Matt Finn reports the latest from Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Department of Justice has renewed its push for the Supreme Court to act on an ongoing legal dispute between Texas and the federal government after a dramatic move in which Texas seized control of a park near the border and blocked Border Patrol from entering.
"Texas’s new actions since the government’s filing demonstrate an escalation of the State’s measures to block Border Patrol’s ability to patrol or even to surveil the border and be in a position to respond to emergencies," the DOJ told the high court in an overnight supplemental filing on Friday.
The Texas National Guard seized Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas and set up razor wire and fences to block off the area. Eagle Pass has been one of the hottest spots of migrant crossings in the three-year border crisis and Shelby Park is a key staging area for processing during the enormous migrant surges the state has seen.
In a statement, the Texas Military Dept. said it has maintained a presence in the park since 2021, including with security points and temporary barriers.
"The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area," it said.
Jan 11 2024: Texas troopers secure Shelby Park near Eagle Pass. (Fox News)
Senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources later confirmed that Border Patrol is being blocked at two areas of operation in Eagle Pass and said that agents pulled resources to avoid a confrontation.
In the overnight filing, the DOJ says Border Patrol learned of the new barriers late on Wednesday and says that the barriers stop Border Patrol from reaching the Rio Grande Reiver in certain areas.
"It also includes the staging area that Border Patrol has used to evaluate and begin inspecting migrants that it has apprehended along this stretch of the border," the administration said.
The government says that Border Patrol had requested access to use a boat ramp and to access the staging area but were refused access.
The move ramps up an ongoing dispute between Texas and the administration over Texas’ setting up of razor wire along the southern border to stop illegal crossings. The Biden administration was recently blocked by an appeals court from cutting or damaging the wire, and asked the Supreme Court to intervene as a result. The administration said the wire was preventing agents from apprehending migrants and accessing parts of the border.
The latest filing comes as part of the case, with the DOJ pointing to claims Texas had previously made that agents could access the border via boat or road without cutting the wire, and said that now the one safe and operationally practical boat ramp was blocked.
"Because Border Patrol can no longer access or view this stretch of the border, Texas has effectively prevented Border Patrol from monitoring the border to determine whether a migrant requires the emergency aid that the court of appeals expressly excepted from the injunction," it argues.
The filing argues that the new actions have "changed the situation on the ground from the account in prior filings in this Court, including Texas’s opposition."
Those developments reinforce the need for this Court to vacate the court of appeals’ injunction, and to do so as soon as possible," the DOJ says. "This Court should vacate the injunction pending appeal in order to restore Border Patrol’s access to the border it is charged with patrolling and the migrants it is responsible for apprehending, inspecting, and processing."
It’s one of several ongoing disputes between the Biden administration and Texas over the southern border. The government has sued Texas over its establishment of buoys along the Rio Grande and a recent anti-illegal immigration law that allows for state and local police to arrest illegal immigrants.
The White House. in a statement, also took aim at Abbott over the seizure of the park and other moves he has made at the border.
"Governor Abbott continues his extreme political stunts that not only seek to demonize and dehumanize people, but that also make it harder and more dangerous for Border Patrol to do their jobs," a spokesperson said. "Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass. Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border. "
"The President has been clear that we need adequate resources and policy changes, and that our immigration system is broken. That is why on his first day in office he presented Congress with a comprehensive immigration reform plan and that is why he is working to find a bipartisan agreement with Congress that includes funding and meaningful reforms," they said.
Texas has stood by its policies, saying that it is acting where the Biden administration has failed to secure the border.
BIDEN DOJ SEEKS SUPREME COURT INTERVENTION OVER TEXAS RAZOR WIRE AT SOUTHERN BORDER
"Texas is holding the line at our southern border with miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb barriers to deter and repel the record-high levels of illegal immigration invited by President Biden's reckless open border policies. Instead of enforcing federal immigration laws, the Biden Administration allows unfettered access for Mexican cartels to smuggle people into our country," Abbott spokesperson Renae Eze said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Border Patrol Union backed Abbott, saying he is enhancing operations, not harming them.
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"His seizing control of Shelby Park allows our agents to deploy to troubled spots that experience high numbers of gotaways. Governor Abbott’s actions should be seen as a force multiplier," National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd said in a statement.
Fox News Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.
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