(DailyVantage.com) – The federal government and the state of Texas continue their showdown on who has authority over Shelby Park, a 47-acre park in Texas that has been a popular point of crossing into the U.S. used by illegal immigrants.
The Supreme Court recently handed down a decision saying that the federal government has the final say on what’s what in the park after Border Patrol agents and the federal government protested actions by the Texas National Guard, who put up concertina wire on a stretch of the park where illegal immigrants cross. In spite of the Supreme Court decision, as well as a cease-and-desist sent by the Department of Homeland Security, Texas law enforcement has refused to remove the barbed wire or cede control of the park to federal authorities. On top of this, Texas has also begun arresting illegal migrants that cross into Shelby Park and charging them with criminal trespass.
Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, said that Texas would never “surrender to Biden’s destructive open-border policies.” Chris Olivarez, the spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, also announced that the latest arrests of illegal immigrants included two nationals from Azerbaijan and another from Ecuador.
Another point of contention between state and federal authorities is the passage of SB4, a state immigration law that empowers Texas law enforcement to arrest, jail and prosecute individuals who are suspected of entering the country through illegal means. The administration of President Joe Biden – whom Texas Governor Greg Abbott has accused of creating the migrant crisis at the border – has threatened to bring Texas to court should the state implements the provisions of SB4. Texas said that it plans to implement the law by March.
In response, Governor Abbott blasted the White House for showing hostility to the “rule of law in America” and/or refusing “to enforce current U.S. immigration laws.”
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