The rural border city of Eagle Pass has become the epicenter of the state’s aggressive border security stand in defiance of the federal government. Since 2021, it has seen a significant uptick in migration across its relatively shallow section of the Rio Grande.
In response, the governor has taken measures to discourage migrants. First, troops unspooled razor wire and deployed river buoys (more on that below). Then in January, the Texas National Guard took over a municipal park, blocking border agents from the riverfront. Authorities from other Republican states have sent troops to help patrol. Plans are also in the works to create an 80-acre operating base.
Some residents are frustrated by the state’s takeover, but local elected officials have voted repeatedly to allow for Texas’s gradual militarization of its border.
