EAGLE PASS, Texas — Shelby Park has undergone a dramatic transformation due to the Biden-Harris border crisis and the state of Texas’ effort to reduce the number of illegal crossings. From shipping containers to razor wire to chain-link fencing, the park by the Rio Grande resembles a hardened military base.
December 18 marked the United Nations’ International Migrants Day. In Southern Mexico, immigrants told Blaze Media they were trying to reach the United States on that day because of a rumor indicating that the border would be open for them. Ultimately, there was not a massive surge in the area, but officers remarked that last Wednesday was busier than it had been during the past few weeks.
While illegal crossings are down compared to this time last year, illegal immigrants are still making their last attempts to enter the United States before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in less than a month. What has played out since the Texas National Guard took over Shelby Park — and what largely has prevented Border Patrol from entering the park since it is under state control — is a game of cat and mouse for illegal border-crossers.
The group ran straight toward the white and green pickup and turned themselves in to be processed.
If Texas state troopers catch suspected illegal immigrants on private property, instead of turning them over to Border Patrol, the troopers will arrest them for trespassing. If National Guardsmen encounter them, the soldiers will not open the gates to let them in and, in some cases, will even repel them with pepper balls if they get too rowdy. As if to highlight how ridiculous the border crisis has become, illegal immigrants actively seek out and run toward Border Patrol agents so they can be released into the United States after being processed.
Blaze Media witnessed the “game” in real time while embedded with Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers. The FWC has been sent by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) to Texas to support Operation Lone Star, an initiative of Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). Driving along the fortified, though temporary, fencing with the FWC, Blaze News spotted a group of 20 illegal immigrants who had gone through a hole in the first fence of the border and were climbing over the second fence, which had concertina wire on top. When they realized the group was not Border Patrol, the last few people scrambled over the fence.
Once all were through, they ran toward the next road, where a Border Patrol pickup was racing to meet them to ensure that they were not attempted “gotaways.” They were not. The group ran straight toward the white and green pickup and turned themselves in to be processed.
The catch-and-release practice is expected to end on the first day of Trump’s presidency along with the CBP One app that has allowed would-be illegal border-crossers to enter through a port of entry. The shell game has provided cover for the Biden-Harris administration to claim that border numbers are down.
It remains to be seen what will happen in Mexico when the immigrants who are still making their way north do not make it to the border before January 20. The immigrants in Mexico said they are still determined to get to the U.S.-Mexico border, even if they arrive after Trump is officially president.
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