Texas National Guard deploys armed soldiers to block Biden's border patrol 'access to the river' in Eagle Pass

On Thursday night, the Texas National Guard took control of Shelby Park in the city of Eagle Pass, Texas, which has been at the center of President Joe Biden’s illegal immigrant crisis at the US southern border.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the state government has seized control of the area and the Texas National Guard has set up razor wire and fences to block off the park. 

A filing from Biden's Department of Justice reveals that the Texas National Guard has "blocked" points of entry and "has deployed armed soldiers and vehicles to block Border Patrol agents from access to the river by passing through entry points in the federal border barrier."

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas told reporters that the decision was made as part of Republican Governor Greg Abbott's emergency declaration and was not something the city had requested. He added that as a result, the Border Patrol was not operating in the area.

National Border Patrol Council Brandon Judd said in a statement to Fox News that agents were being blocked from entering the area by the Texas National Guard but noted, "Governor Abbott is not harming Border Patrol operations, he is enhancing them. His seizing control of Shelby Park allows our agents to deploy to troubled spots that experience high numbers of gotaways. Governor Abbott’s actions should be seen as a force multiplier."

The Texas Military Dept. said in a statement that it has maintained a presence in the park since 2021 and that "The current posture is to prepare for future illegal immigrant surges and to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area.”

In 2021, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star to bring law enforcement resources to the border southern border.

In response to Abbott’s efforts to enforce the law, the Biden administration has sued the state to stop a buoy border barrier in the Rio Grande River and to prevent state and local law enforcement from arresting illegal immigrants.

In response, Texas has sued the federal government for cutting razor wire set up by the state to stop illegal crossings.

Abbott announced this week that he has bussed over 100,000 illegal immigrants to "sanctuary" cities across the US to relieve overwhelmed border communities.