(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Photo essay: A view of the border from the Del Rio sector [1] ['Special To El Paso Matters', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2024-07-02 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. Where those agencies conduct operations, however, looks completely different. El Paso area residents are familiar with the towering steel bollard wall that separates it from Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. The barrier began going up in 2018 as part of an executive order issued by then-President Donald Trump. In Eagle Pass, the wall between the city of more than 28,000 and Piedras Negras in the Mexican state of Coahuila is made up of shipping containers abutting chain-link fencing and concertina wire along the entirety of the northern bank of the Rio Grande. Law enforcement agents conduct patrols by walking along the top of the containers where they observe activity in the river, which is wider and more lush in this area of the state. In addition to officials on foot, boats patrol up and down the river constantly while other deterrents are placed in the water to impede crossings. In Eagle Pass, an 80-acre base is being constructed to house the influx of troops that are part of Operation Lone Star, a multi-agency effort initiated by Gov. Greg Abbott to secure the border. The presence of military personnel and vehicles is evident in Eagle Pass. It has altered daily life for community members, too. Residents could not use a local park to host a planned solar-eclipse viewing event in April because the area was occupied. The following photos were captured Tuesday, June 18, during a tour of the U.S.-Mexico border between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. The tour was part of the Activism Institute program and was composed of students from Colorado College, who took the trip as a part of their program with Organiza Texas. The goal of the program is to give students of varying backgrounds the opportunity to confront the situation on the border. As part of the tour, students viewed a sentencing hearing during a special Operation Lone Star smuggling docket. Sentences are likely to increase as SB4 takes effect next month. Texas has spent $11 billion dollars of taxpayer money on Operation Lone Star. This is a view into what it looks like. Led by the Eagle Pass Border Coalition’s Amerika Garcia Grewal, a group of students tours the everyday reality faced by citizens of Eagle Pass. A new addition to the border operations in Eagle Pass is an 80-acre base designed to hold up to 1,800 Texas National Guard soldiers patrolling the southern border. The first wave of 300 soldiers moved in just less than a month ago as the rest of the base continues to be built. From the town of Eagle Pass, the military presence in Eagle Pass is evident. Shelby Park at one time would have been the site of Fourth of July festivities, but is now closed to the public. Other states have sent in support for Texas, many going to Eagle Pass. A truck from the Florida Division of Emergency Management sits parked near Shelby Park. The wall built adjacent to the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass looks different from its counterparts in other border towns, such as El Paso. Here, in addition to barbed wire fencing, the border is lined with shipping containers. Drivers crossing the Camino Real International Bridge between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras toward Mexico are thanked for visiting as law enforcement and military officials patrol below. The contrast between river banks in two countries is stark. On the Mexico side, people fish and swim while the U.S. side watches the activity from patrol boats and from above a line of shipping containers. A family attempts to make its way into the United States. A number of uniformed individuals observe the family’s attempt. Eventually, the family is told to keep walking along the banks. 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. Just beyond the fence is what has been left behind. It tells a story of all of those who have made the tumultuous journey through this region — clothing snagged in the wire accompanied by backpacks and shoes. Footprints leading inland are also visible. [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/07/02/migrants-border-eagle-pass-piedras-negras-operation-lone-star/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/