Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by the People’s Tribune o=
ur sister publication on February 8, 2024.
Residents Protest Texas Governor’s Militarization of City’s Park at Eagle Pass
A woman and her two children who drowned at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Jan. 12 while trying to cross the Rio Grande River from Mexico into the U.S. were effectively killed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s political grandstanding over immigration. The victims were Victerma de la Sancha Cerros, 33, her daughter, Yorlei Rubi, 10, and her son, Jonathan Agustín, 8.
On Feb. 4, Abbott and 14 other Republican governors from around the country held a press conference at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass to promote their anti-humanity agenda. Shelby Park has been occupied by the Texas National Guard at Abbott’s orders, and the Guard has locked out local residents and even prevented the Border Patrol from going to the aid of migrants drowning in the river. It was near Shelby Park that Victerma and her children died, and some say the Guard’s interference with the Border Patrol contributed to their deaths. Now Abbott is ignoring a Supreme Court order to allow the Border Patrol access to the river at the park.
Abbott and other politicians – on both sides of the aisle – are using human beings as political pawns. Abbott claims there is an “invasion” of immigrants. Through “Operation Lone Star,” which has cost Texans over $10 billion since 2021, he builds border walls and deploys state police and Texas National Guard troops to the border and has them string deadly razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande and on buoys in the river itself. Trump says the immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” while President Biden says he would “shut down the border right now” if Congress passes a bill giving him certain authority. They don’t acknowledge the humanity or the suffering of those migrating to our border in desperate need.
They don’t regard the immigrants as human beings, and despite the claims that they are “securing the border” in the name of “Americans,” they don’t care about the people living on the U.S. side of the border either. If they did, why are so many people in this country homeless and hungry? Why is nearly half our population living in practical poverty? Why are so many without health care? Why does the cost of basic necessities continue to skyrocket?
It’s precisely because of these problems and more that the politicians try to outdo each other in focusing our attention on the so-called migrant “invasion.” It’s designed to pit us against one another – African Americans against migrants; homeless citizens versus migrants; and on and on. But all of us – whether we’re recent immigrants or we’ve lived here for generations – are suffering at the hands of the same broken economic and political system.
On the day Abbott and the other governors held their press conference in Eagle Pass, some people from a “convoy” of self-appointed border protectors were also in town. Local residents came out too – to demonstrate in support of migrants and democracy, and in support of their cross-border, multi-cultural community. Eagle Pass sits on the border across from Piedras Negras, Mexico. Two international bridges link the two cities, and the economy of Eagle Pass depends heavily on the cross-border traffic. Among other things, the Eagle Pass community wants their park (Shelby Park) back from the National Guard.
In a recent article, Truthout’s Candice Bernd described the scene in Eagle Pass this way: “Border Vigil organizer and Eagle Pass resident Amerika García Grewal called on the Republican governors visiting Shelby Park on Sunday to directly lend aid and assistance to the city of nearly 30,000 so that it might better support its own residents as well the asylum seekers crossing the border. Nearly a quarter of the population of Eagle Pass lives in poverty, a rate about twice the Texas average. Blighted homes are apparent throughout town. ‘We need so many things. We need education and support for our schools. We need support for our hospitals. You probably noticed you can’t get a very good [cellphone] signal here. We need a lot more help with our electronic infrastructure, our roads, everything. We have a third [international crossing] we want to go up,’ García Grewal said. ‘We’re asking [the governors] to stop making up fairy tales and get some work done.’
In a similar vein, officials in Chicago and other northern cities to which Abbott and other Republican governors have bussed immigrants say they don’t have the resources to take care of immigrants and local needs at the same time.
But the fact is, the money is there. The federal government has the money, but is squandering it, especially on military spending. The $118 billion measure that is bogged down in the Senate includes tens of billions in military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, along with $20 billion for “border security.” It would further militarize the border and make life harder for immigrants and border communities alike. The government must stop giving billions to corporations for the wall and further militarization of the border.
This money needs to be cut from the war budget and spent on human needs for both current residents of this country and immigrants. We don’t have to pit one group of people against another. We don’t have to fall prey to politicians preaching racism and hate.
There is plenty of money to go around. Everyone’s needs can be taken care of, and they should be. We need peace and prosperity, not poverty and war. Congress and the president are responsible for seeing to this, and we should hold them accountable.
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