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On Wednesday, Texas state officials assumed control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, effectively restricting access to the 47-acre riverfront facility.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas revealed that he was informed by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) South Texas Regional Director Victor Escalon about the seizure of the park, noting that it occurred without the city’s consent. Shelby Park, located along the Rio Grande, is a popular community space for events, sports, and business parking, but has recently become a focal point in the ongoing border crisis.

Shelby Park Eagle Pass Tt Lede 01

The park has been a significant location for GOP Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, serving as a staging ground for border security measures like installing razor wire and buoy barriers in the Rio Grande. Despite being under the Texas state government’s control from June 2022 to August 2023, Mayor Salinas rescinded an affidavit in August, which had previously declared the area private property and allowed DPS to enforce criminal trespass laws at the park.

However, Salinas reported that DPS and the Texas National Guard are now barring entry to the park for private citizens, city officials, and Border Patrol officers. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Border Patrol’s parent agency, has not yet commented on the situation. This recent action is part of Operation Lone Star’s broader strategy to intensify Texas’s enforcement of immigration laws, a power traditionally understood to be under federal jurisdiction.

This move coincides with legal challenges facing Texas’s new immigration law, which authorizes police to arrest individuals suspected of being in the country without legal permission. The Department of Justice recently sued Texas over this legislation.

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