Staff / The El Paso Journal
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 | 05:00
Nearly three months ago, in December, members of the Texas National Guard began installing barbed wire and shipping containers along the banks of the Rio Grande, just west of the Paso del Norte International Bridge.
With a 6-foot-high wire fence –1.83 meters– and the presence of military vehicles and soldiers patrolling the area, the deployment is part of Operation Lone Star –Lone Star–, Governor Greg Abbott’s border effort to stop illegal immigration to Texas.
And although the operation has had a direct impact on the number of encounters with migrants in that area by the Border Patrol, voices have been raised questioning the ecological impact and legality of the new infrastructure.
According to the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission –CILA, for its acronym in Spanish; IBWC, in English–, the state of Texas has not applied for permits to build this infrastructure, which is extended every week, on the border.
International agreements, between Mexico and the United States, give the IBWC control of the riverbank and the ability to grant licenses and building permits in the area.
A commission spokeswoman said Texas did not request permission before work began on Operation Lone Star.
“IBWC has contacted the Texas Department of Public Safety (which appears to be handling this matter for the National Guard) and requested that they submit information for review by the International Boundary and Water Commission in the United States to go through our permitting process. / licenses for infrastructure located on lands controlled by the USIBWC,” the institution said. “They sent us information in December, but they have not responded to our request for additional material that we require.”
Since January, the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission submitted to its North American counterpart a request for the removal of the container barrier placed last December on the northern edge of the Rio Grande, between Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas.
According to Jesús Luévano, secretary of the Mexican representation, the request was made on January 2 and is the third generated by the presence of similar deposits in the border area.
“I reiterate to you our disagreement that both the aforementioned container barrier, as well as the cyclonic mesh and wire fences, have been installed without your project having been presented to the Commission and that this body had the opportunity to review it. and pronounce on it under the terms of Article IV-B of the 1970 Boundary Treaty”, indicates a fragment of the message from the Mexican Section provided by Luévano.
Sally Spener, Foreign Affairs officer of the ICBW US Section, confirmed receipt of the request and added that, previously, they had presented the requirements of the international treaty to the Government of Texas.
It was on December 27 when the Texas National Guard placed 10 cargo containers on the north side of the river –in front of the Altavista High School, in Juárez–, with which “the Government of Texas seeks to continue building a ‘wall’ against the migrants” who have arrived to cross into the United States through this border.
“In El Paso, the containers were installed approximately one kilometer to the west of the railway bridge called ‘Puente Negro,’ while the Texas National Guard maintains militarization about 2.5 kilometers more from the border,” the report stated.
“The concern established by the treaty is that these facilities may cause diversion or obstruction to the flow of avenues of the Rio Grande. At this moment, the containers are outside the pilot channel –where the water runs–, but within the flood zone of the river”, said Luévano at the time.
Questions about the ecological impact of the Abbott installation on the border crossing have drawn the attention of environmental experts.
“There is a direct affectation, especially towards the fauna, there are amphibian species in the Rio Grande, such as some toads and some frogs that hide in winter in muddy areas to resist low temperatures, there are also some species of desert tortoises ; There is also an impact on the flora because where they are digging these holes to put the poles they do not respect the plants”, said the biologist Damián López Peña.
However, for Governor Abbott, it is a success story.
“Texas National Guard soldiers blocked a wave of illegal immigrants trying to cross the border illegally into El Paso,” the president tweeted last week.
“Biden’s open border policies have created a record crisis of illegal immigration. Texas is protecting our state, and the United States, in its absence,” adds the governor’s text on the social network.
In the tweet, Abbott shows two images. Both show dozens of people behind barbed wire and border fences as US Border Patrol and Texas National Guard agents look on from El Paso.
