Texas has absorbed 215 acres of land in the Rio Grande in an effort to prevent migrants and gang members from creeping across the border.
The Texas General Land Office announced in April that state troopers were able to clear two islands near Eagle Pass.
Five months later, Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham added another in Fronton as part of Operation Flat Top.
Texas pointed to old maps to claim that the islands had always been part of the Lone Star State.
Fronton Island is the largest and measures approximately 170 hectares. Once full of lush greenery, it has been stripped to the bare bones and lined with barbed wire in the past week.
Texas has absorbed a total of 215 hectares of land in the Rio Grande to curb illegal immigration, the largest of which is Fulton Island at 170 hectares (photo)
Two smaller islands were also included in Eagle Pass (photo)
Migrants wait for a bus to take them to a processing center after turning themselves over to U.S. Border Patrol in Fronton, Texas
“Fronton Island, known as the most dangerous spot on the southern border, is allowed to patrol,” Buckingham tweeted on November 1.
“Our law enforcement in Texas is working around the clock to protect our state and its people from the dangerous consequences of massive illegal immigration.”
Lt. Chris Olivarez told News 4 San Antonio that the reclaimed islands were mainly used for illegal border crossings.
“We see the influx of illegal immigrants coming over, they would use those pieces of land as a refuge,” he said.
Not just Mexican migrants. Department of Homeland Security data shows that thousands of Chinese migrants illegally crossed the Rio Grande through Mexico in 2023.
The request for Texas to conquer the islands had existed for almost ten years. Once the border is secure, the state is expected to reevaluate what the islands are used for.
“Once it’s completely cleared, we’ll be manning that area 24/7,” Olivarez said.
While some locals have expressed concern that the state’s efforts could provoke Mexican cartels, Olivarez stressed that the move is necessary for security.
“What we’re trying to do is also locate other areas of land, in Eagle Pass, along the border, that we can try to help deny or try to prevent some of that activity from happening right now,” he said.
The Department of Public Safety cleared vegetation on Fulton Island in September for better visibility
Anni Ren, a two-year-old girl from China, stands next to her mother as dozens of Chinese migrants are registered after crossing the Rio Grande in March
A suspected cartel soldier was captured by surveillance camera driving from Mexico to Fronton, Texas in August 2023
Armed cartel members were spotted patrolling the US-Mexico border near Fulton Island on November 4
Now that the islands have been declared a country of Texas, the state is investigating criminal trespass charges against people using these islands to illegally enter the US.
A map from the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission shows Fronton Island on the U.S. side of the border.
However, the agency says yes still confirms ownership of the islands.
Fronton Island in particular has long been considered a hotspot for conflict.
It is where rivals from the Gulf Cartel and Cartel del Noreste have regularly exchanged bullets as they fight for control of the area.
“We encountered armed gunmen, cartel members that we encountered on Fronton,” Olivarez said.
Just last week, suspected cartel members were spotted patrolling near the island, just yards from Texas cities.
Drone footage captured at least 10 men walking through a wooded area on the Mexican side of the border, with some pointing weapons as they surveyed the area.
This is nothing new: in August, cameras captured three armed men, dressed in bulletproof vests and equipped with guns, entering Fronton.
Months earlier, five alleged members of Cartel Del Noreste were arrested in the same area. They were also armed and dressed in tactical gear.