OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
4:03 PM – Tuesday, January 16, 2024
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has threatened the state of Texas with legal consequences if it fails to stop its seizure of a park that sits near the Rio Grande River, alleging that the decision is “unconstitutional” and hinders Border Patrol duties along the border.
On January 14th, DHS General Counsel Jonathan Meyer delivered a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claiming that the state of Texas is being “unconstitutional” in its seizure of Customs and Border Protection’s accession to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass.
In the letter, the DHS General Counsel threatened the state of Texas, claiming that if the state continues to unconstitutionally block access to the park, the Justice Department will take “appropriate action.”
“Texas’s actions are clearly unconstitutional and are actively disrupting the federal government’s operations. We demand that Texas cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access in the Shelby Park area,” the letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton read.
“While Texas has claimed that it has re-opened the use of Shelby Park to the public, it continues to prevent Border Patrol from entering, and from using the area under the adjacent port of entry where Border Patrol has certain property stored for use when migrants are apprehended,” it added.
The state of Texas took over management of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which is an area that was utilized as a holding area for processing on Wednesday while an influx of of migrants came over to the busy crossing area.
The Texas Military Department declared that the decision was made to prepare for future illegal migrant swells and to prevent agencies that “perpetuate illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area.”
The Biden administration also claimed that the Texas National Guard was preventing Border Patrol agents from entering Eagle Pass along a 2.5-mile section of the southern border, which includes Shelby Park.
The state has until Wednesday to “cease and desist its efforts to block Border Patrol’s access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to access to the U.S.-Mexico border,” according to the letter from Meyer, dated January 14th.
Additionally, Meyer stated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be consulted “for appropriate action and consider all other options available to restore Border Patrol’s access to the border.”
“Texas’s failure to provide access to the border persists even in instances of imminent danger to life and safety,” Meyer claimed.
As part of an ongoing legal action regarding the Biden administration’s removal of razor wire that was put in by Texas in order to prevent illegal crossings, the administration has already filed a complaint related to that issue with the Supreme Court.
Recently, the White House also claimed that Abbott was attempting to “politicize the border” with his actions.
“Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border,” the White House statement read.
“The President has been clear that we need adequate resources and policy changes, and that our immigration system is broken. That is why on his first day in office he presented Congress with a comprehensive immigration reform plan, and that is why he is working to find a bipartisan agreement with Congress that includes funding and meaningful reforms,” it added.
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