EAGLE PASS, Texas — Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas on Tuesday declared a state of emergency when more than 4,000 migrants — a majority of them from Venezuela — crossed the border into the West Texas border town in the span of two days.
Eagle Pass is part of a sector of Texas that is heavily crossed by migrants, even more than the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso.
The influx of migrants prompted Salinas to reinstate an affidavit allowing Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to arrest those who have crossed the border illegally. And Gov. Greg Abbott has enlisted DPS troopers, Texas military and local law enforcement to attempt to address the situation.
Immigration has been a topic of concern for many cities in the U.S. in recent years. This is especially true for Texas border cities and sanctuary cities across the U.S. that are facing a strain on local resources due to the increase of border crossings, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott's busing of migrants from Texas to these sanctuary cities.
Abbott's immigration policies under Operation Lone Star have been controversial through the use of razor wire and floating buoys on the Rio Grande that many have called out as inhumane methods.
Abbott and President Joe Biden's opposing views on border crossings have showed the unorganized manner in which immigration is handled in the U.S. The Biden administration recently took down razor wire along the border in Eagle Pass; in response, Abbott deployed law enforcement to replace put it back up.
After calls from Democratic leaders across the nation to allow migrants to work, the Biden administration on Wednesday granted temporary protection status to thousands of Venezuelan migrants already in the U.S.