In January, Abbott, additionally a Republican, seized management of the town’s riverfront recreation space, Shelby Park, and kicked out the U.S. Border Patrol, which had used the house as an out of doors processing space. He introduced plans this month to construct an 80-acre navy base close to the riverbanks that may home as much as 2,300 Nationwide Guard troops assigned to frame duties.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/ShelbyPark/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/ShelbyPark-xxsmall.jpg?v=29)
Transport containers topped with
concertina wire ring the perimeter of
Shelby Park in Eagle Move
seized by Texas
Nationwide Guard
Jan. 12
Feb. 4 picture through Reuters/Go Nakamura
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/ShelbyPark/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/ShelbyPark-xsmall.jpg?v=29)
Transport containers topped with concertina wire
ring the perimeter of Shelby Park in Eagle Move
seized by Texas
Nationwide Guard
Jan. 12
Feb. 4 picture through Reuters/Go Nakamura
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/ShelbyPark/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/ShelbyPark-medium.jpg?v=29)
Transport containers topped with concertina wire ring the perimeter of
Shelby Park in Eagle Move
seized by Texas
Nationwide Guard
Jan. 12
Feb. 4 picture through Reuters/Go Nakamura
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/ShelbyPark/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/ShelbyPark-Artboard_56.jpg?v=29)
Transport containers topped with concertina wire ring the perimeter of Shelby Park in Eagle Move
seized by Texas
Nationwide Guard
Jan. 12
Feb. 4 picture through Reuters/Go Nakamura
The town of Eagle Move (inhabitants: 28,500) — a once-sleepy border city surrounded by melon fields and pecan orchards — grew to become the entrance line of Texas’s battle with the federal authorities over President Biden’s immigration insurance policies. Unlawful entries by the realm have fluctuated through the previous a number of years, however the quantity of individuals crossing into Eagle Move in current months reached historic ranges.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/RioGrandeStrip/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/RioGrandeStrip-xxsmall.jpg?v=18)
An in depth map of border protections
alongside a 3-mile stretch of the Rio
Grande in Eagle Move, Tex.
Border barrier
put in with
federal funds
in 2011
Seized by
Texas
Nationwide
Guard on
Jan. 12
EAGLE
PASS
INT’L
BRIDGE I
Transport
containers
topped with
concertina
wire line
CAMINO
REAL
INT’L
BRIDGE
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Island
cleared
of dense
brush and
brambles
by Texas
Nationwide
Guard
Retention
pond has
been used
for migrant
processing
Fence
erected
by Texas
alongside
Route 480
Floating buoy
barrier put in
by Texas in
July 2023
Satellite tv for pc picture offered by
©2024 Maxar Applied sciences
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/RioGrandeStrip/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/RioGrandeStrip-xsmall.jpg?v=18)
An in depth map of border protections
alongside a 3-mile stretch of the Rio
Grande in Eagle Move, Tex.
Border barrier put in with
federal funds in 2011
Seized by
Texas Nationwide
Guard on
Jan. 12
EAGLE PASS
INT’L BRIDGE I
Transport
containers
topped with
concertina
wire line
CAMINO REAL
INT’L BRIDGE
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Fence
erected by
Texas alongside
Route 480
Retention
pond has
been used
for migrant
processing
Island
cleared
of dense
brush and
brambles by
Texas Nationwide
Guard
Floating buoy
barrier put in by
Texas in early July 2023
Satellite tv for pc picture offered by
©2024 Maxar Applied sciences
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/RioGrandeStrip/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/RioGrandeStrip-medium.jpg?v=18)
An in depth map of border protections
alongside a 3-mile stretch of the Rio Grande
in Eagle Move, Tex.
Border barrier put in
with federal funds in 2011
Nationwide Guardsman
patrol the river close to
the Camino Actual
Worldwide Bridge
Concertina wire put in
by Texas Nationwide Guard
Seized by
Texas Nationwide
Guard on Jan. 12
EAGLE
PASS
INT’L
BRIDGE I
Transport
containers
topped with
concertina
wire line
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
CAMINO REAL
INT’L BRIDGE
Fence
erected by
Texas alongside
Route 480
Retention
pond
has been
used for
migrant
processing
Island
cleared
of dense
brush and
brambles by
Texas
Nationwide
Guard
A migrant walks alongside a floating buoy barrier as he seems to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico in August 2023
Floating buoy
barrier put in by
Texas in early July 2023
Satellite tv for pc picture offered by ©2024 Maxar Applied sciences
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/RioGrandeStrip/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/RioGrandeStrip-xlarge.jpg?v=18)
An in depth map of border protections
alongside a 3-mile stretch of the Rio Grande
in Eagle Move, Tex.
Border barrier put in
with federal funds in 2011
Nationwide Guardsman
patrol the river close to the
Camino Actual Worldwide Bridge
Concertina wire put in
by Texas Nationwide Guard
Seized by
Texas Nationwide
Guard on Jan. 12
EAGLE PASS INT’L
BRIDGE I
Two-lane bridge with
pedestrian walkways
Transport
containers
topped with
concertina
wire line
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
Customs and
Border Safety
Port of Entry
CAMINO REAL
INT’L BRIDGE
4-lane bridge with
pedestrian walkways
Fence erected by
Texas alongside Route 480
Retention pond
has been used
for migrant
processing
Island cleared
of dense brush
and brambles by
Texas Nationwide
Guard
Concertina wire put in
by Texas Nationwide Guard
A migrant walks alongside a floating buoy barrier as he seems to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico in August 2023
Floating buoy barrier
put in by Texas
in early July 2023
Satellite tv for pc picture offered by ©2024 Maxar Applied sciences
The city is the location of one of many busiest railroad crossings from Mexico, the USA’ largest buying and selling companion. Migrants with little cash touring north by Mexico usually climb overseas freight trains, risking extreme damage and dying.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/TejasSector/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/TejasSector-Artboard_1.jpg?v=10)
Excessive-
apprehension
crossing
level
Be aware: Solely railroad community
for Mexico proven.
Metropolis dots are scaled by
inhabitants.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/TejasSector/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/TejasSector-Artboard_2.jpg?v=10)
Excessive-apprehension
crossing level
Be aware: Solely railroad community
for Mexico proven.
Metropolis dots are scaled by
inhabitants.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/TejasSector/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/TejasSector-Artboard_3.jpg?v=10)
Excessive-
apprehension
crossing
level
Be aware: Solely railroad community
for Mexico proven.
Metropolis dots are scaled by
inhabitants.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/TejasSector/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/TejasSector-Artboard_4.jpg?v=10)
Excessive-
apprehension
crossing
level
Be aware: Solely railroad
community for Mexico proven.
Metropolis dots are scaled
by inhabitants.
In December, when enforcement by Mexican immigration authorities went slack due to a funds squeeze, tens of 1000’s of migrants rode the trains north towards Eagle Move. When one of many trains arrives on the border, large crowds seem alongside the riverbanks and go away U.S. brokers rapidly overwhelmed. That usually results in greater numbers of migrants launched into the USA, moderately than detained and doubtlessly despatched again in another country.
Another excuse crossings are excessive in Eagle Move — a part of what U.S. Customs and Border Safety calls the Del Rio sector — is the relative ease of fording the Rio Grande. It’s the similar stretch of river the place 1000’s of largely Haitian migrants waded throughout in September 2021 and fashioned a sprawling out of doors camp in close by Del Rio, one of many first border emergencies that dealt a blow to Biden’s administration report.
Biden is scheduled to go to the border Thursday in Brownsville, Tex., to induce help for bipartisan efforts to offer extra funding for U.S. immigration authorities in addition to U.S. cities struggling to shelter migrants. The hassle lately stalled in Congress after Trump urged Republican lawmakers to oppose it. Brownsville has been a significant crossing level lately however has seen far fewer entries in current months than Eagle Move.
Although the Rio Grande within the Eagle Move space isn’t as deep as it’s additional downstream, water ranges and currents change quickly, and the realm has develop into infamous for drownings. CBP has recorded a minimum of 200 migrant deaths within the Del Rio sector since 2017, authorities information exhibits. Some drowning victims are recovered by Mexican authorities or by no means discovered.
In December, U.S. border brokers recorded almost 250,000 unlawful crossings, probably the most ever in a single month. The Del Rio sector — and particularly Eagle Move — was the second-busiest location alongside your entire Mexico border (after southern Arizona), with 71,048 crossings.
Since then, Mexican authorities have ramped up patrols and checkpoints. In January, unlawful crossings by the Del Rio sector dropped to 16,712, the newest CBP information exhibits. Abbott has claimed credit score for the change, however Division of Homeland Safety officers say Mexico’s efforts and seasonal components performed a much bigger function.
The Del Rio sector is barely one of many fundamental routes into Texas. CBP’s Rio Grande Valley sector has usually seen better volumes of crossings, in addition to the El Paso sector, which extends into New Mexico.
Since 2021, the migrant inflow has overwhelmed native authorities in Maverick County (residence to Eagle Move), straining public companies together with emergency responders and medical amenities. CBP opened a big tent facility to assist handle and add detention and processing capability.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/EaglePassMacro/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/EaglePassMacro-Artboard_1.jpg?v=16)
Present Texas Nationwide Guard
working base (element proven beneath)
Maverick Co.
Int’l Airport
The Texas Nationwide Guard
introduced in July 2023 it had
cleared and put in an 8-mile
barrier of concertina wire
alongside the border.
U.S. Border Patrol
checkpoint
Deliberate working base
for Texas Nationwide Guard
Kickapoo Conventional
Tribe of Texas
Hundreds of migrants attain
the border through this railroad,
the place they bounce off and check out
to wade throughout the Rio Grande
to the USA.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/EaglePassMacro/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/EaglePassMacro-Artboard_3.jpg?v=16)
Present Texas Nationwide Guard
working base (element proven beneath)
Maverick Co.
Int’l Airport
U.S. Border Patrol
checkpoint
Deliberate working base
for Texas Nationwide Guard
Kickapoo Conventional
Tribe of Texas
The Texas Nationwide Guard introduced
in July 2023 it had cleared and
put in an 8-mile barrier of
concertina wire alongside the border.
Hundreds of migrants attain
the border through this railroad,
the place they bounce off and check out
to wade throughout the Rio Grande
to the USA.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/EaglePassMacro/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/EaglePassMacro-Artboard_4.jpg?v=16)
The Texas Nationwide Guard introduced in July 2023
it had cleared and put in an 8-mile barrier of
concertina wire alongside the border.
Present Texas
Nationwide Guard
working base
U.S. Border
Patrol
checkpoint
Deliberate Texas
Nationwide Guard
working
base
Kickapoo Conventional
Tribe of Texas
Hundreds of
migrants attain
the border through
this railroad.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/EaglePassMacro/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/EaglePassMacro-Artboard_5.jpg?v=16)
The Texas Nationwide Guard introduced in July
2023 it had cleared and put in an 8-
mile concertina wire barrier alongside the border.
Present Texas
Nationwide Guard
working base
U.S.
Border Patrol
checkpoint
Deliberate Texas
Nationwide Guard
working
base
Kickapoo Conventional
Tribe of Texas
Hundreds of
migrants attain
the border through
this railroad.
The strains on Eagle Move and Maverick County created a possibility for the Texas governor to intervene with Operation Lone Star. The town signed onto a state emergency declaration calling the big numbers of border crossers “an invasion,” empowering the state to deploy troops and file legal trespassing fees towards migrants on public land.
Texas arrange “Camp Charlie” in 2021, lower than a mile from the CBP tent facility, to briefly home troopers deployed on border duties. The troop presence overwhelmed native resorts and despatched the rental market sky-high.
“It’s absurd to imagine that we’ve to combat the federal authorities every day,” stated Mike Banks, a retired Border Patrol agent appointed by Abbott to be the state’s border czar.
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/CampCharlie/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/CampCharlie-xxsmall.jpg?v=28)
Maverick
County
Int’l
Airport
U.S. Customs and
Border Safety
processing facility
with a capability of
1,000 opened
July 2022
Camp Charlie
Texas Nationwide
Guard camp for
Operation
Lone Star since
October 2021
Picture supply: Airbus through GoogleEarthPro
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/CampCharlie/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/CampCharlie-xsmall.jpg?v=28)
Maverick
County
Worldwide
Airport
U.S. Customs and
Border Safety
processing facility
with a capability of 1,000
opened July 2022
Camp Charlie
Texas Nationwide Guard
camp for Operation
Lone Star since
October 2021
Picture supply: Airbus through GoogleEarthPro
![](https://gfx-data.news-engineering.aws.wapo.pub/ai2html/CampCharlie/VL27Z55FZ5HPRICJGU55JR2MUA/CampCharlie-medium.jpg?v=28)
Maverick County
Worldwide
Airport
Camp Charlie
Texas Nationwide Guard
camp for
Operation Lone Star
since October 2021
U.S. Customs and Border
Safety processing facility
with a capability of 1,000
opened July 2022
Picture supply: Airbus through GoogleEarthPro
“Both do the job that you just’ve been mandated by Congress to do because the federal authorities or simply get out of the best way and allow us to get it finished,” Banks stated Feb. 16 in Eagle Move, the place Abbott introduced plans for the brand new base. “As a result of Texas goes to guard Texas.”
Abbott’s new plan will remodel 80 acres of riverfront property right into a extra everlasting working base to deal with as much as 2,300 troops. The institution of a Texas navy base on the Rio Grande harks again to the town’s origins, when Eagle Move was established as a garrison for the U.S. Military through the Mexican-American Warfare.
Texas continues to restrict the Border Patrol’s entry to Shelby Park, and Abbott has described plans to increase the Nationwide Guard deployment alongside the riverbanks, the place some migrants proceed to cross on the outskirts of city.
The standoff between Texas and the Biden administration is going down in federal courtroom. In January, the Supreme Court docket upheld federal authorities’ proper to take away concertina wire that interferes with Border Patrol operations. A district-court ruling directing Texas to maneuver its floating barrier within the Rio Grande is on maintain pending enchantment.
Each side are awaiting a district-court ruling on the Justice Division’s effort to dam Texas from implementing S.B. 4, a brand new regulation set to take impact March 5 that may give state and native police the flexibility to arrest and jail migrants who can’t show authorized standing in the USA.
Sources: Eagle Move satellite tv for pc imagery offered by Maxar Applied sciences. Mapping information through USGS, U.S. Customs and Border Safety and OpenStreetMap.