Quemado and Normandy, two small Texas towns that are difficult to find even on a map, have become the new entry points into the US in recent days as the Texas governor and the Biden administration disagree over who controls a Eagle Pass area. , Texas, where migrants had crossed.
Since the state of Texas virtually closed Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, the site where asylum-seeking migrants have used for years to enter through Eagle Pass, migrants have simply moved north to the cities of Quemado and Normandy.
Shocking video tweeted by journalist Ali Bradley shows a group of migrants numbering in the hundreds walking completely unchecked through a ranch near Normandy.
The two cities, both of which have more cows than people, consist largely of vast private ranches bordering Mexico.
Groups of migrants, as small as a dozen or in the hundreds, are now crossing into the US and trespassing on private property.
“They just move from one place to another, it’s like a mole,” Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
Eagle Pass migrant traffic has just been moved north to Quemado and Normandy, Texas, amid a political standoff between the state of Texas and the federal government.
Normandy and Quemado have had illegal crossings for years, but have never been considered hotspots. In November 2021, almost 200 migrants were found in Normandy (photo above) in a single group
Under orders from Republican Governor Greg Abbott, Texas soldiers fenced off Shelby Park Jan. 10 with barbed wire and other fencing, even though the land is owned by the City of Eagle Pass.
Abbott claimed the measure was intended to stem the historic number of illegal immigrants in Shelby Park in recent weeks.
The week before Christmas, more than 22,000 asylum-seeking migrants used Shelby Park to enter Eagle Pass, which has a population of just 28,000.
The influx strained resources and cost local taxpayers thousands of dollars a day.
Texas began barring U.S. Border Patrol agents, federal officers and the only ones authorized to enforce U.S. immigration laws from entering the park.
A view of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass during a historic wave of migrants in late December
A photo shows concertina wire in front of the entrances to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., January 14, 2024. The Texas Military Department confirmed that the Texas National Guard has taken control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass and directed Border Patrol ties. of access to the area
National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande River at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas
The situation became even more tense after Border Patrol agents alleged that Texas National Guard troops prevented them from entering state-controlled territory to help save a migrant woman and two children from drowning.
The state claimed that the migrants had already drowned when the Border Patrol was notified.
Biden’s Justice Department filed a request with the Supreme Court late Monday to force the state to grant Border Patrol agents access.
Wednesday afternoon, the The FBI has issued a strongly worded letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who survived last year’s impeachment and is the subject of several criminal investigations, demanding that Texas open the park to Border Patrol.
“If you have not confirmed by the end of the day on January 17, 2024, that Texas will cease its efforts and block Border Patrol access in and around the Shelby Park area and remove all barriers to entry at the U.S. border Mexico will take away, we will. refer the matter to the Department of Justice for appropriate action and consider all other available options to restore Border Patrol access to the border,” the letter said.
Paxton responded with his own letter within minutes saying, “Texas will not surrender to Biden’s destructive open borders policy.”
Attorney General Paxton will continue to defend Texas as the country uses its constitutional authority to defend the state’s territory, sovereignty and citizens.”
The political confrontation in Shelby Park has not stopped anyone from crossing the border.
U.S. Border Patrol agents have been locked out of a 2.5-mile stretch of land in Eagle Pass that federal authorities say only federal agents, not Texas authorities, have legal access to
For years, federal and state law enforcement agencies have worked together at the border, but the relationship has become complicated by the politics surrounding immigration issues
Dozens of migrants spotted on a private ranch near Normandy, Texas, are undeterred by US politics
All it has done is move the border crossings north and make it a problem for ranchers.
Quemado and Normandy have seen illegal immigrant crossings there in the past, as they are sandwiched between the popular Del Rio and Eagle Pass crossings.
Now, however, many people who would have crossed at Eagle Pass have moved north to avoid the Texas National Guard blockade.
Quemado is where the majority of illegal crossings occur, Schmerber said.
“My officers see groups of ten, twelve,” he said. “They catch people every day.”
Although many ranch owners allow Border Patrol agents or Texas troopers on their land to patrol and watch for migrants, resources are limited in this part of the Lone Star State.
Some ranches are huge and have only rough dirt roads that make fast travel impossible.
By the time police respond to any sightings of illegal immigrants on the property, the migrants may be miles away.
“Farmers are very alert, they all have guns and know how to defend themselves,” explained Chief Schmerber.
The sheriff added that local authorities have created a program called “Cattlemen” to help property owners expedite law enforcement efforts when illegal immigrants are spotted.
His department of 32 officers relies heavily on help from Border Patrol, Texas troopers and sheriff’s deputies from neighboring counties.