by Jennie Taer
Border Patrol agents are quietly applauding Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s effort to seize property along the border, several of them told the Daily Caller News Foundation on the condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly.
The Texas Department of Public Safety seized the property of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, the city’s mayor, Rolando Salinas, said in a statement posted to Facebook Thursday. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Supreme Court filing hours after the decision that Texas National Guardsmen are blocking the Border Patrol from accessing the area, where they have a staging area and boat ramp.
One agent reacted in support of Abbott’s action, telling the DCNF “hell yes” he’s behind it.
“In my humble opinion, if we were allowed to secure the border we’d have it shut down in four days,” the agent told the DCNF.
EXCLUSIVE: Illegal Migrants Fist Bump Border Patrol After They Cut Through Abbott’s Border Wirehttps://t.co/hjfo3uzi9q@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/te7NF8cczr
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) September 28, 2023
The agents feel they’re not able to secure the border and that the state could, which is why they’re supportive of Abbott’s latest action.
“I’m all for it. We screwed up by not protecting it ourselves,” a second Border Patrol agent said.
“I understand what Abbott’s doing. Mayorkas is letting in an invasion so he’s trying to stop it. The aliens are still gonna cross if they are that hell bent on it. The only way this changes [is] if we start enforcing the law,” a third agent told the DCNF.
Illegal immigration at the southern border has exploded under President Joe Biden’s tenure. Border Patrol recorded more than 2.2 million encounters at the southern border in fiscal year 2022 and more than 2 million in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data.
“If the immigrants want to give up and agents are their only way of giving up, they’ll find a new route where the agents are at,” a fourth agent explained.
Another agent said he’s heard no complaints from his colleagues over Abbott’s action.
“I think for us finally someone is doing something about the influx of people just pouring in,” the fifth agent said.
Abbott’s office defends the state’s law enforcement efforts along the border, despite ongoing legal actions between the governor and Biden administration over the state erecting concertina wire along the border and passing legislation to make arrests for illegal entry.
“Texas is holding the line at our southern border with miles of additional razor wire and anti-climb barriers to deter and repel the record-high levels of illegal immigration invited by President Biden’s reckless open border policies,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris told the DCNF in a statement Thursday.
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Jennie Taer is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
