Acting under orders from Republican Governor Greg Abbot and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas National Guard blocked federal Border Patrol agents from a 2.5-mile stretch of the US-Mexico border, NBC News reports, defying an order from the Department of Homeland Security.
“Your letter misstates both the facts and the law in demanding that Texas surrender to President Biden’s open-border policies,” Paxton whines in his three-page response. “Because the facts and law side with Texas, the State will continue utilizing its constitutional authority to defend her territory, and I will continue defending those lawful efforts in court. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should stop wasting scarce time and resources suing Texas, and start enforcing the immigration laws Congress already has on the books.”
Homeland Security used a riverside park at Eagle Pass as a processing area for migrants who crossed the Rio Grande. After Texas agents blocked access to the area, a migrant mother and her two children reportedly drowned because Texas officials denied federal agents access to respond to reports of people in trouble along the river. Eagle Pass is also where Abbott installed buoys covered with razor wire on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande; a federal court ordered the removal of the barrier, but the Fifth Circuit delayed the removal while Texas appeals.