Photo essay: A view of the border from the Rio Grande Valley
by Special to El Paso Matters
July 2, 2024
Further south along the river, the militarization continues. Through multiple layers of barbed wire, the buoys deployed by Gov. Greg Abbott are visible despite ongoing court challenges. (Adelaide Olberding / El Paso Matters)
By Adelaide Olberding / El Paso Matters
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Immigration policy changes announced by President Joe Biden in recent weeks haven’t completely curbed the number of individuals who continue to seek illegal entry into the United States from the southern border to request asylum.
While El Paso is long familiar with the daily realities of life along the U.S.-Mexico boundary, the situation in Eagle Pass, Texas, nearly 500 miles southeast, presents a starkly different picture.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio sector, which encompasses Eagle Pass, has seen more migrant encounters at the border than the El Paso sector in the current fiscal year that began in October 2023. U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows Del Rio recorded about 214,630 encounters through May compared with about 204,210 in the El Paso sector that includes the county and all of New Mexico. However, a shift has occurred in recent weeks with the El Paso Sector reporting more than double the number of encounters recorded in May by the Del Rio Sector. Shifts in where encounters occur are common.
Despite the differences, the presence of U.S. Border Patrol agents, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Texas National Guard troops and other law enforcement agencies share some similarities in both communities.
https://elpasomatters.org/2024/07/02/migrants-border-eagle-pass-piedras-negras-operation-lone-star/
