The political crisis in the US over the border with Mexico continues. Greg Abbott, the right-wing governor of the border state of Texas, has declared war on migrants trying to cross into the US from Mexico. The Biden administration is also making concessions to compromise with Republicans on issues ranging from Israel to Taiwan, such as increased war spending. On Sunday, 13 Republican governors gathered in Texas to support the anti-immigrant campaign and the usurpation of federal authority at the border. Racist convoys from various cities also arrived in the region.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Texas National Guard troops began controlling Shelby Park, a city park in Eagle Pass, a border town with Mexico, two weeks ago, forcibly seizing it from US Customs and Border Protection agents who were using the area as a temporary jail and processing center for migrants.
Inside Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas ahead of the border security press conference held this afternoon pic.twitter.com/kgWpdooo0N
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) February 4, 2024
Since taking over the park, the soldiers, who take orders from Abbott, have refused to allow US Border Patrol agents access to the facilities. The park includes a boat dock that agents previously used to rescue migrants trying to cross the dangerous waters of the Rio Grande River at the border.
On January 22, the US Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Border Patrol agents have the right to cut the razor wire that Texas authorities have erected to gain access to the park or to migrants in the park. In response, Republican politicians called on Governor Abbott to defy the court’s ruling, while several governors pledged to send their own National Guard troops and police to support Abbott’s stand against the White House. The Biden administration instructed Abbott to turn over control of the park to the Border Patrol, but Abbott has not done so.
MEETING OF RACIST GOVERNORS
This past Sunday, Abbott also endorsed Governors Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Arkansas), Brian Kemp (Georgia), Brad Little (Idaho), Eric Holcomb (Indiana), Kim Reynolds (Iowa), Jeff Landry (Louisiana) from the Republican Party, Tate Reeves (Mississippi), Mike Parson (Missouri), Greg Gianforte (Montana), Jim Pillen (Nebraska), Chris Sununu (New Hampshire), Bill Lee (Tennessee) and Spencer Cox (Utah) in Texas.
In a statement, Abbott said the governors had come together to defend against the “immigrant invasion.” Abbott accused the Biden administration of deliberately refusing to enforce immigration laws and thus “aiding and abetting the invasion of America by millions of people from around the world.”
Meanwhile, the Texas Guard has erected more than 100 miles of razor-wire barriers along the border with Mexico. Abbott also promised to expand control of the border in Sunday’s announcement.
APPROVAL OF MIGRANT HOSTILITY IN EXCHANGE FOR WAR SPENDING
Meanwhile, on the same day, the US Senate, controlled by the ruling Democratic Party, unveiled the text of a $118 billion national security supplemental bill. US President Joe Biden and his party colleagues in the Senate agreed to sweeping attacks on immigrants’ democratic rights in order to secure Republican support in the Senate for the bill, which calls for over $80 billion in military spending on Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. But this was not enough for the Republicans.
The bill may not be able to pass the House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, which is controlled by Republicans. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump condemned the bill and called on Republicans to cancel it.
The bill significantly increases the number of border police, imposes new restrictions on the right of migrants to seek asylum, and authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the US President to seal the US-Mexico border, aiming to crack down on all forms of migration to the US, wsws.org reported.
Speaking to ABC Television, New York Congressman and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from the Democratic Party, expressed support for the supplemental package approved by the Senate and emphasized that Democrats “are willing to work with Republicans to fix the broken immigration system.” Jeffries urged passage of the Senate bill in the House of Representatives to fund Washington’s expanding multi-front war abroad and its war on immigrants at home.
RACIST CONVOY SUPPORT FOR GOVERNORS
During the governors’ joint show, a convoy of several hundred people calling themselves “God’s army” gathered in Texas. Several convoys also gathered in California and Arizona and headed for the border.
The convoy arrived in Texas with the slogan “Take back the borders” and included members of the Proud Boys and QAnon fanatics, organizations that were prominent and punished in the November 6 fascist raid on Congress. The group held a rally in Quemado, 30 kilometers from Eagle Pass, and Trump banners or t-shirts were also visible.
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The New York Times, one of the leading liberal newspapers in the US, reported the motorcade with the headline “Fears of ‘invasion’ and ‘civil war’ at border security rally in Texas” and the headline “A conservative motorcade gathered at the Texas border in support of the state’s defiant stance on immigration. Despite fears of possible violence, the event was peaceful.”
The group staying at a farm performed various religious rituals and some people were baptized.
"Christ is king!" shouts a man after getting baptised at "God's Army" #borderconvoy he US Mexico border rally in Quemado Texas pic.twitter.com/9fhFEkbGPP
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) February 4, 2024
LOCALS PROTEST AGAINST RACIST CONVOY
In response, locals held a rally in San Juan Plaza to denounce Abbott and the militarization of the border. One resident told reporters that the arrival of the convoy was the first time he felt unsafe in public. Many residents said they feared right-wing militias and violent Trump supporters more than migrants.
“Some individuals or groups claiming to be God’s army are coming to our community to spread hate,” Eagle Pass native Jessie F. Fuentes told local media: “We are constantly being told that we are being invaded and that the convoy is coming to town for the governors’ event, which has never felt true until today. This is political theater by foreigners. The truth is that dangerous and violent groups have been brought into our beautiful and peaceful city. If you look at the crime statistics, Eagle Pass is safer than most cities in America. This is a reality. We do not appreciate these staged events that dramatically misrepresent our border reality and invite extremist groups that pose a real danger to people in our community.”
