(UnitedHeadlines.com) – While at a campaign stop Jan. 12, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott explained why the state turned away Border Patrol agents and then fenced off a park along the southern border.
He stated that the Border Patrol was not being allowed “on that property anymore,” as he shared his frustration over the Border Patrol agents loading the migrants who are illegally entering the country through Eagle Pass onto buses. Abbott stated, “We’ve had it.” Shelby Park, which serves as a major corridor for migrants illegally crossing the border from Mexico, was closed as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, Texas’ border security initiative.
In response to the actions of Texas, the Department of Justice told the U.S. Supreme Court that Border Patrol agents were not being allowed to enter the park. While Texas acknowledged it had seized the park, it said it was attempting to resolve any disputes regarding access to the park.
After Texas officials prevented the Border Patrol agents from entering the property Jan. 12, three migrants, a woman and two children, drowned in the Rio Grande, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The deaths added to the tension between the Biden administration and Texas. In a statement following the deaths, White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández said that Border Patrol needs to “have access to the border to enforce our laws.”
In a Jan. 14 statement, the Texas Military Department said it was “wholly inaccurate” that Border Patrol agents were prevented by state personnel from saving the drowning migrants. They added that the drownings had already occurred by the time access was requested by Border Patrol.
Abbott spokeswoman Renae Eze stated that Texas will utilize “every tool and strategy” in responding to President Joe Biden’s border crisis.
If access is not restored by Jan. 17, the Department of Homeland Security’s general counsel Jonathan E. Meyer has threatened legal action.
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