Texas has arrested thousands on trespassing charges at the border. Illegal crossings are still high
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Texas has arrested thousands on trespassing charges at the border. Illegal crossings are still high

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Before settling in New York City like thousands of other migrants this year, Abdoul, a 32-year-old from West Africa, took an unexpected detour: Weeks in a remote Texas jail on local trespassing charges after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Since 2021, Texas authorities have arrested nearly 10,000 migrants on misdemeanor trespassing charges under what Abbott has called a “arrest and jail” operation: Border landowners enter agreements with the state authorizing trespassing arrests, clearing the way for law enforcement to apprehend migrants who enter the U.S. through those properties. Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. “The state of Texas is working to send a message to those considering crossing into the country illegally to think again.” Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, signed a blanket trespassing charge affidavit to allow arrests like Abdoul’s on park grounds during a spike in migrant crossings in July.

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History of this topic

One day along the Texas-Mexico border shows that realities shift more rapidly than rhetoric
2 months, 4 weeks ago

One day along the Texas-Mexico border shows that realities shift more rapidly than rhetoric

Associated Press  

As midnight nears, the lights of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, fill the sky on the silent banks of the Rio Grande. “This is the dream for most Cubans: Come to the United States to work and help your family back home.” 5 a.m. Friday, Aug. 9 Hundreds of miles away near McAllen, Border Patrol agents Christina Smallwood …

Opinion: Texas border law Senate Bill 4 is understandable, terrible and doomed
9 months ago

Opinion: Texas border law Senate Bill 4 is understandable, terrible and doomed

LA Times  

The governor has deployed the National Guard to Eagle Pass, Texas, and wants state authorities to arrest and deport migrants. Lone Star Republicans passed Senate Bill 4 last year, which would make illegally crossing the border into Texas from Mexico a misdemeanor with a punishment of up to six months in jail. And the premise of SB 4 is to …

325 miles apart, Biden and Trump tour border, highlighting immigration as an election issue
9 months, 3 weeks ago

325 miles apart, Biden and Trump tour border, highlighting immigration as an election issue

LA Times  

President Biden, second from the right, looks over the southern border Thursday in Brownsville, Texas. Three hundred miles apart, President Biden and likely Republican challenger Donald Trump walked along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday, in dueling trips underscoring how important immigration has become for the 2024 election and how much each man wants to use it to his …

Texas border cities offer Biden and Trump different backdrops for dueling visits
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Texas border cities offer Biden and Trump different backdrops for dueling visits

Associated Press  

McALLEN, Texas — Presidential visits to the border are usually short on substance and long on political theater and symbolism — starting with the choice of location. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, are making dueling appearances Thursday on the Texas border, but Biden’s choice of Brownsville and Trump’s pick of Eagle Pass will provide sharply different …

Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass
10 months, 1 week ago

Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass

Associated Press  

McALLEN, Texas — Texas will build an operations base for up to 1,800 National Guard members in Eagle Pass, expanding the presence of soldiers in the border city where the state has clashed with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement, Republican Gov. The 80-acre property along the Rio Grande will open a short distance from Shelby Park, the riverfront area …

Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass
10 months, 1 week ago

Texas will build camp for National Guard members in border city of Eagle Pass

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Texas will build an operations …

Judge skeptical about Texas law that lets police arrest migrants over illegal entry
10 months, 1 week ago

Judge skeptical about Texas law that lets police arrest migrants over illegal entry

LA Times  

People wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas, after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico. A federal judge on Thursday voiced concerns over a Texas law that would give police broad authority to arrest migrants on charges of illegal entry starting in March, saying it would be a “nightmare” if the …

GOP governors back at Texas border to keep pressure on Biden over migrant crossings
10 months, 2 weeks ago

GOP governors back at Texas border to keep pressure on Biden over migrant crossings

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — As more than a dozen Republican governors gathered Sunday on the Texas border, Kyle Willis was across the river in Mexico considering his next move to enter the U.S. For nearly a month, Texas has restricted U.S. Border Patrol’s access to an area along the river known as Shelby Park, accusing the Biden administration of not …

GOP governors return to Texas border site; many migrants move downriver to cross
10 months, 2 weeks ago

GOP governors return to Texas border site; many migrants move downriver to cross

LA Times  

Kyle Willis woke up Sunday in Mexico, weighing options for entry into the U.S. after being turned away last week at the most fortified stretch of Texas’ border. The 23-year-old Jamaican, who said he left his country after facing attacks and discrimination due to his sexuality, had followed the path of a historic number of migrants over the last two …

Small Texas border city lands unsolicited spotlight in state-federal showdown over border security
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Small Texas border city lands unsolicited spotlight in state-federal showdown over border security

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As a ceremony with the …

How a small Texas city landed in the spotlight during the state-federal clash over border security
10 months, 3 weeks ago

How a small Texas city landed in the spotlight during the state-federal clash over border security

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — There are razor wire fences, a barrier of shipping containers along the Rio Grande and patrols of Texas National Guard. “But when it’s a little too fast, it’s little bit hard for the community to be able to keep up.” On Friday, there were no migrants to be found on the grassy fields of Shelby Park …

Eagle Pass standoff: The Texas border town’s locals are tired of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Shelby Park takeover.
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Eagle Pass standoff: The Texas border town’s locals are tired of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Shelby Park takeover.

Slate  

Throughout January, a right-wing militant group based out of North Carolina called upon supporters to travel to a small Texas border town to “gather” and help “do the work of closing our borders.” “By Ballot, by choice,” the group’s website promised. Greg Abbott has been feuding with the Biden administration, pitting federal Border Patrol against Abbott’s Texas National Guard and …

People's Convoy 2.0: Huge cavalcade of TRUCKERS will head to border hotspots in bid to shame Biden administration into cracking down on migration crisis
10 months, 4 weeks ago

People's Convoy 2.0: Huge cavalcade of TRUCKERS will head to border hotspots in bid to shame Biden administration into cracking down on migration crisis

Daily Mail  

A massive convoy of truckers will make its way to three migrant hotspots across three states in a bid to shame the White House into tackling the worsening crisis. A huge convoy of truckers is set to travel to three points along the southern border notorious for illegal crossings on January 29 in a bid to shame the Biden administration …

Supreme Court allows federal agents to cut razor wire Texas installed on US-Mexico border
11 months ago

Supreme Court allows federal agents to cut razor wire Texas installed on US-Mexico border

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed Border Patrol agents to resume cutting for now razor wire that Texas installed along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border that is at the center of an escalating standoff between the Biden administration and the state over immigration enforcement. “Texas’ political stunts, like placing razor wire near the border, simply make …

Texas Dismisses Fed’s Demand For Full Border Access After Migrant Drownings
11 months ago

Texas Dismisses Fed’s Demand For Full Border Access After Migrant Drownings

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Texas has dismissed an order by the Biden administration to allow federal agents full access to a park that was seized by the state along the U.S.-Mexico border last week where three migrants later drowned. In a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, Texas’ attorney general squarely blamed the federal government for the …

Texas arrests migrants at border park, defying Biden order to stop blocking Border Patrol
11 months ago

Texas arrests migrants at border park, defying Biden order to stop blocking Border Patrol

LA Times  

The Texas National Guard continued blocking U.S. Border Patrol agents’ access to the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass after the federal government’s deadline Wednesday night. Gen. Ken Paxton that said the state had until Wednesday night to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from having full access to the Shelby Park area or it would refer the matter to the Justice …

Migrant deaths in Rio Grande intensify tensions between Texas, Biden administration over crossings
11 months, 1 week ago

Migrant deaths in Rio Grande intensify tensions between Texas, Biden administration over crossings

Hindustan Times  

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — After Texas fenced off a park along the U.S.-Mexico border and began turning away Border Patrol agents, Republican Gov. Later that night, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said three migrants, including two children, drowned near the park after Texas officials “physically barred” Border Patrol agents from entering. U.S. authorities described the drownings as underscoring the need …

Mayor says Texas closed park without permission in border city where migrant crossings had climbed
11 months, 1 week ago

Mayor says Texas closed park without permission in border city where migrant crossings had climbed

Associated Press  

McALLEN, Texas — The mayor of a Texas border city at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ‘s aggressive measures to curb migrant crossings accused the state Thursday of a new escalation as state troopers closed a large public park along the Rio Grande without asking permission. The park is a new tension point in Eagle Pass, where large …

The US sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement
11 months, 2 weeks ago

The US sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Daniel Bermudez’s family had fled Venezuela and was headed to the U.S. to seek asylum when the freight train they were riding through Mexico was stopped by immigration officials. Instead, they flew her to Mexico’s southern border as part of a surge of enforcement actions that U.S. officials say have contributed to a sharp drop in …

U.S. sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement
11 months, 2 weeks ago

U.S. sees a drop in illegal border crossings after Mexico increases enforcement

LA Times  

Migrants cross the Rio Grande into the U.S. from Mexico behind concertina wire and a sign warning that it’s dangerous and illegal to cross Wednesday in Eagle Pass, Texas. Daniel Bermudez’s family had fled Venezuela and was headed to the U.S. to seek asylum when the freight train they were riding through Mexico was stopped by immigration officials. Instead, they …

Speaker Johnson demands hard-line policies during a border visit as Ukraine aid hangs in the balance
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Speaker Johnson demands hard-line policies during a border visit as Ukraine aid hangs in the balance

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit Wednesday to the Mexican border to demand hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Joe Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. The trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, came as the Senate engages in delicate negotiations in hopes of striking …

U.S. to reopen border crossings as illegal immigration drops
11 months, 3 weeks ago

U.S. to reopen border crossings as illegal immigration drops

The Hindu  

N The U.S. will reopen four legal U.S.-Mexico border crossings on January 4 as high levels of illegal immigration have receded and freed up personnel, a senior U.S. official said on Jaunary 2. U.S. border authorities struggled in December to process migrants as apprehensions reached nearly 11,000 in a single day, which several current and former officials said was near …

Speaker Johnson leads House GOP on a trip to a Texas border city as Ukraine aid hangs in the balance
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Speaker Johnson leads House GOP on a trip to a Texas border city as Ukraine aid hangs in the balance

LA Times  

Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas, in October. House Speaker Mike Johnson led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit Wednesday to the Mexican border to underscore their demand for hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. “So we are …

Southern border migrant surge: December encounters reach most in more than two decades as mayors call for action
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Southern border migrant surge: December encounters reach most in more than two decades as mayors call for action

CNN  

Eagle Pass, Texas CNN — A new surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border is overwhelming already-stretched resources and prompting urgent talks with Mexican officials as December border crossings reached a record monthly high. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is heading to Eagle Pass, Texas, along the southern border January 8 for an “operational visit” regarding immigration enforcement efforts, the Department of …

Judge orders federal agents to stop cutting Texas razor wire for now at busy Mexico border crossing
1 year, 1 month ago

Judge orders federal agents to stop cutting Texas razor wire for now at busy Mexico border crossing

Associated Press  

McALLEN, Texas — A federal judge Monday ordered Border Patrol agents not to interfere with razor wire that Texas installed at a busy crossing for migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border, ruling that the barrier can only be cut to provide aid during medical emergencies. The temporary restraining order signed by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses allows federal agents to cut …

Elon Musk becomes citizen journalist, highlights immigrant crisis in USA as thousands of illegals cross the Eagle Pass
1 year, 2 months ago

Elon Musk becomes citizen journalist, highlights immigrant crisis in USA as thousands of illegals cross the Eagle Pass

Op India  

On Thursday, September 28, Billionaire Elon Musk visited the Texas border with Mexico to get an “unfiltered” view of the situation amidst the surging influx of illegal immigrants via the Eagle Pass. At Eagle Pass discussing the border crisis https://t.co/Gt30ifvvFk — Elon Musk September 28, 2023 Gonzales said that the situation is getting “worse”. Went to the Eagle Pass border …

Texas cities struggle to address influx of arrivals along US-Mexico border
1 year, 2 months ago

Texas cities struggle to address influx of arrivals along US-Mexico border

Al Jazeera  

The administration of US President Joe Biden has reached out to Mexico for help confronting the spike in migration. The administration of United States President Joe Biden is facing pressure to address a recent swell of arrivals at the country’s southern border as local officials warn their resources may soon reach “breaking point”. Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino said the …

As migrants overwhelm a Texas border city, others wait in Mexico for appointments to enter the US
1 year, 3 months ago

As migrants overwhelm a Texas border city, others wait in Mexico for appointments to enter the US

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Waiting three weeks and counting to cross into Texas, Lila sat in a shelter on the Mexico border Friday feeling trapped: The cartels make it too dangerous to turn around and the U.S. government offers no guarantees if she keeps going. The unfolding response in Eagle Pass, where the mayor declared an emergency, illustrates how Border …

After a lull, asylum-seekers adapt to US immigration changes and again overwhelm border agents
1 year, 3 months ago

After a lull, asylum-seekers adapt to US immigration changes and again overwhelm border agents

Associated Press  

JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — A group of migrants from China surrendered to a Border Patrol agent in remote Southern California as gusts of wind drowned the hum of high-voltage power lines, joining others from Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and elsewhere in a desert campsite with shelters made from tree branches. In tiny Eagle Pass, Texas, nearly 6,000 migrants crossed from …

A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants
1 year, 3 months ago

A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants

LA Times  

A kayaker walks past large buoys being used as a floating border barrier on the Rio Grande on Aug. 1, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Texas to move a large floating barrier to the bank of the Rio Grande after protests from the the U.S. and Mexican governments over Republican Gov. The decision by …

Texas separates migrant families, detaining fathers on trespassing charges in latest border move
1 year, 4 months ago

Texas separates migrant families, detaining fathers on trespassing charges in latest border move

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas state police officers separated migrant families along the border with Mexico by detaining fathers on trespassing charges and turning over mothers and children to federal officials, the state Department of Public Safety said Thursday. Others were told they would never see their wife and child again.” Travis Considine, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said …

Texas is using disaster declarations to install buoys and razor wire on the US-Mexico border
1 year, 5 months ago

Texas is using disaster declarations to install buoys and razor wire on the US-Mexico border

Associated Press  

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Wrecking ball-sized buoys on the Rio Grande. He has repeatedly attacked President Joe Biden’s border policies, tweeting Friday that they “encourage migrants to risk their lives crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, instead of safely and legally over a bridge.” The Biden administration has said illegal border crossings have declined significantly since new immigration rules took …

Agents stop crowd at Texas border crossing amid asylum woes
1 year, 9 months ago

Agents stop crowd at Texas border crossing amid asylum woes

LA Times  

Cars line up at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, below, on the border with El Paso, Texas, top, on Nov. 8, 2021. A large group of migrants in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was blocked from crossing a bridge to El Paso over the weekend, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said. The migrants were “posing …

Border patrol: 9 migrants die crossing swift Texas river
2 years, 3 months ago

Border patrol: 9 migrants die crossing swift Texas river

Associated Press  

Officials on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border searched for more victims Saturday after at least nine migrants died while trying to cross the rain-swollen Rio Grande, a dangerous border-crossing attempt in an area where the river level had risen by more than 2 feet in a single day. The Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, is …

Texas’ border mission grows, but crossings still high
2 years, 5 months ago

Texas’ border mission grows, but crossings still high

Associated Press  

AUSTIN, Texas — Following the horror of a human-smuggling attempt that left 53 people dead, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state troopers to inspect more trucks — again expanding a border security mission that has cost billions, given the National Guard arrest powers and bused migrants to Washington, D.C. What Abbott’s get-tough plans haven’t done in the year since he …

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