The crisis began when Governor Abbott sent state troopers to take over Shelby Park on January 10th, claiming that the federal government has abdicated their right to govern the area. The troops prevented Border Patrol from entering the park and encased it with razor wire, setting up armed guards at its entrance.
The park has long been a community space in Eagle Pass, home to the Noches Mexicanas public festival, and was regularly used for little league matches and weekend flea markets.
Now, as a result of the extremist actions of Abbott, three migrants – a mother and two young children – have drowned while crossing the razor-strewn river nearby. Allegedly Border Patrol arrived to rescue the migrants, only to be rebuffed by the national guard. Regardless, it seems clear that such a tragedy could not have occurred without Abbott's inhumane and illegal 'deterrents', which the Supreme Court has ordered him to take down, to no avail.
Meanwhile, 25 GOP governors have signed a letter published by the Republican Governors Association which stands in solidarity with Abbott's actions. The letter claims a 'right to self defense' and ties into the Republican attempt to impeach Homeland Security Director Mayorkas over the growing turmoil at the border. The Republican Governors Association is funded by Big Oil and Big Pharma (Chevron, GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly), big money interests who naturally have nothing to say to this usurpation of sovereignty.
Simultaneously, Republicans have moved to kill the national security bill intended to deal with crisis of immigration happening in our country, and the unsafe conditions of the southern border. The bill would have hired more asylum judges – a sorely needed bit of governance given that the current backlog for asylum cases stands at over 3 million.
We can only hope that in light of this bill's death, we can push past the crisis and not allow the Republicans to stall this issue as a political bargaining chip. We need strong legislation and we need it now.
Rural towns are suffering across America. They are in dire need of low-skill labor, and there are thousands at the border who stand ready to perform the hardest jobs – the ones Americans by and large do not want to do.
Yet Republicans are echoing the actions of right-wing hardliners across the globe and sacrificing the lives and wellbeing of migrants for their political ends. Even when this contravenes international law and the standards of commonplace ethics.
In the UK, conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that stopping migrant dinghies from reaching the southern coast is a top priority. Only this month, a boat of over 70 people arrived, with 5 dying of exposure and another 20 suffering severe hypothermia.
Our cruel and callous treatment of migrants must stop. Help us advocate for a system that works, and elect leaders who are sure to pass legislation that helps our country. We cannot allow this to become an election issue in 2024, as the death of this bill threatens to do. We are stronger than xenophobia and hatred.
