The Texas border city caught in a constitutional crisis
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2024
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is in a standoff with the U.S. government over who controls the Texas border with Mexico. That fight has centered on the border city of Eagle Pass, where Abbott has seized a park and is testing the limits of the Constitution
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Eagle Pass, Tex., is a small border city that in recent weeks has been mired in a bitter standoff between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the federal government. In an effort to deter migrants from crossing the border from Mexico to Eagle Pass, Abbott seized a local park and covered barriers with coils of razor wire. That has put him at odds with President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security, who claim Abbott does not have jurisdiction over the southern border.
In January, the Supreme Court ruled that federal agents were allowed to cut through the razor wire installed by Abbott’s administration, but the governor has remained defiant, raising constitutional questions about how much power the Texas governor has to secure the border of the state.
Arelis Hernández joins us today to explain the origin of this standoff and provide us with a firsthand look at how both state and federal immigration policies are affecting the residents of Eagle Pass.
Our colleagues at The Washington Post are monitoring right-wing protests expected in Eagle Pass over the weekend. Follow our coverage at washingtonpost.com.
Today’s show was produced by Arjun Singh. It was mixed by Sean Carter. And edited by Lucy Perkins and Monica Campbell. Thanks also to Christine Armario.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I remember being at this park earlier last year in 2023 and watching |
| 0:09.0 | golfers tee off and people on the other side in Mexico on the river walk on the other side |
| 0:17.0 | enjoying picnics and playing music. Arles Hernandez is a reporter at the post and |
| 0:22.4 | she focuses on immigration, Texas, and the US-Mexico border. |
| 0:27.0 | This place is completely different now. |
| 0:30.0 | There are just rolls and rolls of rolls of |
| 0:33.8 | concertina wire placed over this sort of green barriers. |
| 0:39.4 | Arles was standing in Shelby Park when she recorded this. |
| 0:43.6 | It's an Eagle Pass, Texas. |
| 0:46.2 | As she said, it's a place where people regularly gather to play sports |
| 0:49.8 | or just meet up with their friends. |
| 0:51.9 | But in January, it was seized by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. |
| 0:55.9 | And he ordered the installation of a razor wire, which has made it harder for migrants to cross |
| 1:00.6 | the river at Eagle Pass. Right now I can see Texas Military Department Soldiers National Guard on top of shipping containers that they placed here about a year ago lining the top of those shipping |
| 1:16.1 | containers with even more coils of concertina wire or as it's probably known |
| 1:22.3 | best razor wire. |
| 1:25.0 | And they've got heavy equipment out here. |
| 1:28.0 | There are several Humvees. |
| 1:30.0 | And I just finished talking to a young man from Venezuela who has been roaming up and down the US River Bank of the Rio Grande for the past two days with his girlfriend who her leg is no longer bleeding but a |
| 1:45.2 | it's she has a bloody leg from having been caught in the razor wire U.S. Border Patrol wants to be able to cut the wire to reach the river and aid migrants |
| 2:00.4 | in distress. The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered Abbott to allow that, but Abbott's troops are |
| 2:06.1 | installing even more wire. The result is a standoff in Eagle Pass between the Texas National |
... |
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