The mayor of a Texas border town declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as 2,000 migrants arrived in one day – and Governor Greg Abbott deployed the Texas National Guard to repair razor wire and ‘repel illegal crossings’.
Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that the estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country between January 1 and July 31 this year will be granted temporary permission to work – a move welcomed by Democrats, particularly in New York City where leaders have begged for migrants to be allowed to support themselves.
But 2,000 miles south west of Manhattan, residents of Eagle Pass were despairing at the influx, and struggling to cope.
The bridge between Eagle Pass and the Mexican city across the border, Piedras Negras, was closed on Wednesday so border agents could be redeployed to work on processing migrants.
Randy Clark, a retired Border Patrol agent who now writes for Breitbart, said the decision to close the border to those legally crossing back and forth showed the scale of the problem.
‘The only closure at the border is one of two ports of entry where legal residents and citizens cross. The inconvenience by DHS is reserved for legitimate trade and travel,’ he wrote on X.
‘No impediments on the constant flow of illegal traffic between the ports.
‘This government is on crazy pills!’
Thousands of migrants are pictured lining up to be processed on arrival in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday. At one point the line stretched five miles
The line of migrants awaiting processing on Wednesday stretched as far as the eye could see in Eagle Pass
Migrants sit under the bridge on Wednesday in Eagle Pass, awaiting processing
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the Biden administration cut the razor wire along the border – so he was sending people to replace it
The line for processing illegal immigrants on Wednesday stretched for five miles on Wednesday, NewsNation reported, and wound its way back into Mexico.
Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, said 2,500 people crossed into his town of 29,000 on Monday – and 7,200 the week before.
So far this year, the Del Rio sector of the border, in which Eagle Pass sits, has recorded 317,866 migrant ‘encounters’, the latest Border Patrol data shows.
The figure is a 15.5 percent decrease on the same time period last year, but Salinas said his town was still struggling.
‘It has taken a toll on our local resources, specifically our police force and our fire department,’ he said on Tuesday night.
‘I’ve been getting a lot of calls from our constituents that they get worried, they see a lot of people in our community.
‘But it is my understanding that some of these people, they don’t want to be there. So they’re leaving (the shelters), and they’re on our streets, and I understand the concerns of a lot of people.’
Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, said 2,500 people crossed into his town of 29,000 on Monday. On Tuesday night he declared a state of emergency
Migrants are pictured wading across the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras to Eagle Pass last week
The Biden administration said it will send 800 active-duty military personnel to the border, to boost efforts by the 2,500 National Guardsmen already deployed to help Customs and Border Protection at the border.
Abbott, the Texas governor, said he was also sending additional members of the state National Guard.
He said the razor wire his team had installed along the banks of the river had been taken down: he deployed troops to reinstall it.
‘Texas installed razor wire in Eagle Pass to stop illegal crossings,’ said Abbott.
‘Today the Biden Admin CUT that wire, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants.
‘I immediately deployed more Texas National Guard to repel illegal crossings & install more razor wire.’
Abbott said he had deployed people to repair razor wire in Eagle Pass
Abbott said the Biden administration was not doing enough to stem the flow
And amid the anguish at the border, the Biden administration was trumpeting its Venezuela decision.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security Secretary, granted the expansion of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) due to ‘Venezuela’s increased instability and lack of safety due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions,’ the department said in a statement.
There are currently approximately 242,700 TPS beneficiaries under Venezuela’s existing TPS designation, who will be able to remain a further 18 months.
There are an additional approximately 472,000 nationals of Venezuela who are now eligible for the scheme.
Critics say the promise of work will encourage illegal crossings – even though anyone who crossed after July 31, or failed to register, is ineligible.
But supporters of the scheme said it allowed those migrants awaiting processing to work and support themselves, reducing the burden on the states.
Migrants from Venezuela are seen wading through the Rio Grande on September 15 to arrive in Eagle Pass
‘More than 116,000 asylum seekers have come to New York City since last spring in search of the American Dream,’ tweeted Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, and one of the most vocal in calling for migrants to be allowed to work.
‘Our administration and our partners across the city have led the calls to ‘Let Them Work,’ so I want to thank @POTUS for hearing our entire coalition, including our hard-working congressional delegation, and taking this important step that will bring hope to the thousands of Venezuelan asylum seekers currently in our care who will now be immediately eligible for Temporary Protected Status.’
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said she too was pleased – and appeared to claim credit for the decision.
‘After my productive conversation with @POTUS last night, I’m grateful the federal government has acted so speedily to grant one of our top priorities: providing Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants & asylum seekers who have already arrived in this country,’ she wrote on X.
‘There’s more work to do as we address the migrant crisis, but the State of New York is prepared to immediately begin the process of signing people up for work authorization & getting them into jobs so they can become self-sufficient.’