EAGLE PASS – At its heart, Eagle Pass is a city that’s vibrant and rich with culture, which is why Jessie Fuentes is proud to call the border town his home.
“You always get an opportunity to be connected to your roots,” he said.
But he’s disheartened the public’s perception of the city is mangled by the coils of razor and concertina wire stretching along the banks of the Rio Grande.
“That concertina wire is brutal,” said Juanita V. Martinez, chair of Maverick County Democratic Party.
She said the wire has left scars on the city’s reputation, and on those who get caught in it.
“The community is exhausted,” Martinez said. “We’re exhausted from the situation.”
A situation that U.S. Customs and Border Protection numbers show hit a peak in December.
Thousands of men, women and children waited in a field to be processed by Border Patrol agents.
At a Sunday press conference, several Republican governors blamed an increase in crime and drug issues in their states on President Joe Biden and what they call inaction at the border.
“It’s very clear that this is not just a fight that Texas is having,” said Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “This is a fight that all of us have to engage in.”
The 14 governors joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Eagle Pass to show their support for his decision to take control of Shelby Park.
“I think the local residents are angry and rightfully so — because their neighborhoods, their golf courses, their shopping areas all have been invaded,” Abbott said.
Martinez said she is frustrated but her anger is directed at the governor.
“That’s not true at all,” she said. “Right now, we’re being invaded by the crazy people that he has incited to come here and to wreak havoc on our community.”
Martinez and several others from Eagle Pass said they want the state to back off and get out.
“We need our park back,” she said. “I want Governor Greg Abbott to get the hell out of our community.”
Abbott said he believes the state’s takeover is helping border security, claiming that migrant crossings in that section have dropped to an average of three people a day.