The Democratic mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, has expressed frustration over the ongoing border battle between the Biden administration and Gov. Greg Abbott over a popular corridor for illegal immigration.
The Biden administration and the Abbott government have been at odds over access to Shelby Park, and Texas has continued to install razor wire after the Supreme Court said Border Patrol agents could remove it to rescue migrants.
“Honestly, it’s pretty frustrating, that confrontation between the feds and the state,” Rolando Salinas said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News. “We’re just going to focus on our city, on our people, on our economy, because I’m tired of the games that both sides are playing.”
Salinas also clarified that he does not support illegal immigration and said that those who cross the border illegally should be deported.
“I am totally in favor of legal immigration, I do not support people who come, cross the river and stay here in the United States,” he said. “I think those people should be sent back immediately because it’s not fair to the people who do it the right way.”
“Honestly, it’s pretty frustrating, that confrontation between the feds and the state,” Rolando Salinas said Tuesday.
The Biden administration and the Abbott government have been at odds over access to Shelby Park, a popular corridor for illegal immigration.
The federal government says the chain-link fences jeopardize security and hamper rescue efforts, while the state says it stops the flow of migrants.
Texas took control of Shelby Park this month and began denying entry to Border Patrol agents, escalating a dispute between Abbott and President Biden’s administration, which the governor accuses of not doing enough to curb crossings. illegal.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security sent the state a letter demanding access again to Shelby Park, which is next to the Rio Grande.
Then, on social media, Abbott struck a defiant tone, issuing a statement saying Texas had a “constitutional right to self-defense” but did not address access to the park.
The federal government says the chain-link fences jeopardize security and hamper rescue efforts, while the state says it stops the flow of migrants.
‘I am, frankly, very frustrated. And it has to end. I just don’t like the coming and going and the constant, it’s a constant fight,’ Mayor Salinas added about the battle.
‘No one wants to join. Gone are the days of the reasonable politician, that’s what I think.
Small business owners in Eagle Pass told NewsNation the area is now a “ghost town” because when legal borders close, they lose their customers who live in Mexico.
“Recently, with all this going on, it’s just been dead,” area worker Alex De Hyos told the outlet. ‘Here we have weekends when we don’t even make sales. We make few sales when normally we should be earning a lot more.’
Texas took control of Shelby Park this month and began denying entry to Border Patrol agents, escalating the dispute between Abbott (pictured) and President Biden’s administration.
Both Democratic and Republican local leaders in Eagle Pass, a small city of 28,000, have called on the federal and state governments to come together to address the crisis.
Meanwhile, a convoy of conservative activists, calling themselves the “Army of God,” set out Monday for the southern border to protest the number of immigrants entering the country illegally.
Dozens of people joined the self-styled ‘Take Our Border Back’ grassroots movement in Norfolk, Virginia, where organizers criticized the Biden administration for leaving US borders ‘wide open.’
On Wednesday they were scheduled to travel from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Dripping Springs, Texas, which is about four hours from Eagle Pass.
Figures from US Customs and Border Protection show that more than 2.5 million people entered this country through its southwest border in 2023.
Congressional lawmakers are also refusing to approve Joe Biden’s aid packages for Ukraine and Israel without tougher anti-immigration measures.
A convoy of conservative activists, who call themselves the ‘Army of God,’ left for the southern border on Monday
Dozens of people joined the self-proclaimed ‘Take Our Border Back’ grassroots movement in Norfolk, Virginia, to begin their nearly 2,000-mile journey.
An agreement currently being negotiated would require the federal government to close the border if 5,000 immigrants enter the United States each day.
It will also prohibit immigrants from seeking asylum if they cross illegally and could face deportation to Mexico or their country of origin.
In December, federal agents recorded several days in which more than 10,000 people crossed illegally into this country.
Texas police officers and members of the National Guard have maintained a large presence in Shelby Park since last summer, when thousands of migrants crossed illegally from Mexico.
Crossings have decreased markedly since early January, not only in Eagle Pass but in other parts of the US-Mexico border.
But nearly two weeks into the year, the state told the mayor of Eagle Pass that it would close access to Shelby Park, even though the land is owned by the city of Eagle Pass.
Mayor Salinas previously said in a video posted on his social media that he was given no explanation about the schedule and did not know when the public would have access to the popular recreation area.