Residents Unite Against Border Militarization, Demand Park Restoration
Eagle Pass, Texas –– In a united effort to uphold the full human rights of all community members, residents of Eagle Pass are calling for the restoration of Shelby Park, which has been transformed into a military-style staging ground.
The city of Eagle Pass experienced a frightening spectacle when Governor Abbott held a hate-filled press event at Shelby Park this past Sunday. Due to the Governor’s heavy-handed approach and highly-staged event – and dangerous rhetoric about border communities – armed militias from across the United States were inspired to come into the normally quiet, safe, and peaceful border town.
“Governor Abbott, you are creating a fiction and using our community’s resources to do it. You are telling a dangerous and misleading story about us, about the border, and our safe community. Your cruel words are inviting chaos and hate into our town,” said Jessie F. Fuentes of Eagle Pass Border Coalition.
On Tuesday it was reported that a Tennessee man who planned to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border with weapons, body armor, and ammunition was arrested. He is affiliated with militia groups from Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
“In the face of dangerous rhetoric from extremists like Governor Abbott, Eagle Pass residents, and migrant communities uphold our core values of compassion, dignity, and justice. The governor’s actions endanger lives and undermine the principles that should guide our nation. We are united against hate, advocating for a society built on empathy, inclusion, and respect for human rights,” explained Nancy Treviño of Presente.org.
For months, tax-paying Eagle Pass residents have been calling on local, state, and federal officials to return our beloved Shelby Park to Eagle Pass residents. The park has been turned into a military-style staging area, now being used as a backdrop for political theater by the Governor and out-of-state politicians.
“Eagle Pass residents are being treated as second-class citizens without access to Shelby Park and forced to witness the decimation of our public land and the Rio Grande. We have had enough and plan to deliver a letter to the Governor urging him to relinquish control of Shelby Park and restore our rights to access our own public space. It is possible to ensure safety and border security without infringing upon the rights of residents to access our cherished public spaces. We call on Governor Abbott to respond to our letter immediately,” concluded Fuentes.
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Presente.org is the nation’s largest online Latine organizing group — and the nation’s premier Latine digital organizing hub — advancing social justice with technology, media, and culture. Presente.org’s mission is to advance Latine power and create winning campaigns that amplify Latine voices; expand the political imagination and traditional boundaries; and foster inspiration for freedom, equity, and justice.
The Eagle Pass Border Coalition is a group of community organizers working to empower our community to lift our voices, protect our culture, and become ambassadors of our fronterizo identity. We’re fighting to be the ones that tell our own story. IG – @epbordercoalition
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