Reuters World News - Eagle Pass: What it's like to live in an infamous border town

Episode Date: February 11, 2024

Eagle Pass has shared a border with Mexico for generations, but recently it's become the center of a heated political debate over illegal immigration. An influx of migrants, and surge of Texas National Guard troops trying to stop them, has transformed the town. Immigration reporter Ted Hesson recently visited Eagle Pass to speak with residents about what it's like to live there, and what effect this immigration fight is having on them. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eagle Pass, Texas has become a flashpoint. America is at a breaking point. We have had hundreds of troops on the border. The town shares a border with Mexico and has done so for generations. But recently, it's become the site of an ongoing standoff between Texas and federal authorities over border security. As a result, it's found itself at the center of a heated political debate in the middle of an election.

The firepoint. border is not secure. Our country is not secure. There is no fight right now that is more important for us to engage in. Conservative politicians go there to hold press conferences. Our Constitution gives the states the right to self-defense. Also, for some reason, Elon here. Elon Musk made a visit.

I'm at Eagle Pass. I just arrived. But what is it like to live there? On this weekend episode of Reuters World News, we'll talk with immigration reporter Ted Heson, who recently visited the town to find out from those living there what life is like inside a flashpoint. I'm Jonah Green in New York. Liberty and justice for all. Last weekend, hundreds of protesters against illegal immigration trekked to a ranch near Eagle Pass to show their support for former President Donald Trump.

We closed our business family today to come out here, support our President Trump. They were decked out in American flags and pictures of Trump himself. Many had strong opinions on our current political climate. We're in a crisis in this country. I actually believe it's going to eventually get to a shooting war. One woman even got baptized in a galvanized stock tank. So how did this town of 28,000 become this site-up? of conflict, this mecca for the debate over illegal immigration. And what's it like for those who

are just trying to live there? Ted Hassen joins us now. Hey, Ted. Hi, how are you? Good, good. So, tell us a little bit about Eagle Pass. Eagle Pass is a small city on the Texas, Mexico border. About 28,000 people live there. And it's one of the cities like many U.S. border cities that's dependent on cross-border traffic. There are lots of Mexicans who come into Eagle Pass on a daily basis to go shopping or because they have family there. And there really is a relationship between both sides of the border. But one thing has changed, specifically in the last year, is that there has really been a sharp rise in the number of migrants who've been crossing into this city. And it's disrupted what has been for generations, a pretty stable relationship

between the U.S. and Mexican sides of the border. And so was this sudden influx of migrants the thing that turned this town into such a hot spot? The fact that there have been in the last year, thousands of migrants, I mean, at times there have been in December up to 4,000 migrants per day for several days crossing into this tiny city. It's had a fairly dramatic impact. One thing is the actual volume of people coming in, but another part has just been what it means for legal transit. And in December specifically, when these levels got really high of people. people crossing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection actually pulled staffing away from one of the legal border crossings into the country and essentially had to shut down one of two bridges

from Mexico. And the result of that was that businesses in the City of Eagle Pass were hurt. They really depend on the shoppers coming from Mexico. And it was right around the run-up to Christmas time in December. And the fact that one of these two bridges was shut down meant that the wait times were very long at the other bridge. Someone was telling me it could have been 12 hours to cross from Mexico into the U.S. in your car and several hours on foot. It really depressed the economy there during the month of December. And that's one of the biggest concerns for residents. It's that they have this cross-border relationship, and the fact that the crossings are high has disrupted that. Texas is going to take action to do our part to try to reduce the illegal

immigration coming into our country. Now, another major concern has been that Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is a Republican and hardliner when it comes to immigration policy, has really tried to take immigration enforcement into the state's hands, and particularly in this area. He has surged National Guard troops to Eagle Pass, and they're very prominent down on the border. You can see them there. He's actually taken over a city park there, this 47 an acre picturesque park called Shelby Park and essentially commandeered it as to prevent illegal crossings through that area. And one of the most notable things is that they build more or less a makeshift border wall in that same area out of shipping containers and then spools and spools of

concertina wire, razor sharp wire that prevents many migrants from crossing. So that's created a standoff between Abbott and the federal government because in the United States, traditionally immigration enforcement is done by the federal government and border patrol agents and not by a state like what we're seeing here. Can you just help me understand, like, how are migrants crossing into this town? Just logistically, what does that look like? So one thing that was very notable to me when I was there this weekend was that there weren't many visible crossings. And we were down on the border. We saw several small groups of migrants who had crossed the Rio Grande River. and they were on the banks, and they were essentially penned in by this concertina wire that Texas Governor Abbott has had placed there. They'll wait there, and then they'll be received by

Texas authorities and eventually transferred to border patrol. But back in December, there were crossings that were 4,000 people a day, many people streaming into this city, but on a temporary basis, most of them eventually moving onward to other parts of the U.S. So there is an effect, but many of the migrants who are crossing ultimately are leaving. I think for the residents of Eagle Pass, the biggest effects are the fact that this park, right in the heart of the city, has been essentially militarized as the governor of Texas is trying to prevent illegal crossings. The park has been a heart of, it's kind of the heart of Eagle Pass, and many residents use it

for children's sports leagues to play soccer to play baseball. In March, they're planning a festival, and they're going to have to look for another site for that festival. And then actually, in April, there's a solar eclipse that's passing across the United States and actually would, or is going right through Eagle Pass. And they were planning to have people in that Shelby Park and now are having to think of other plans for up to 50,000 visitors who may be coming to observe the solar eclipse. So that's one of the big effects of this. Another one is just on business. There are many shoppers who come from Mexico to the U.S. And as illegal immigration levels have gotten really high in recent months, U.S. border authorities have shut down one of the two bridges from Mexico.

And it essentially cuts down the number of Mexicans who can come into shop and go to restaurants and visit their family. And that has real serious economic effects. One business owner I spoke with said that in December, he did about 50% of the business that he normally does. and he was really counting on December being a good month because of the border shut down. And just generally across the city, it's been detrimental. Now, there have been some businesses that have benefited with the big surge of National Guard troops, Texas National Guard troops coming into the city and also other law enforcement, hotel rooms have been booked up.

And at the same time, restaurants have been more full than usual because there are more people there on temporary assignment involved with trying to stop migrants from crossing the border. And you spoke to some people while you were there, including this one young mother. What's been her experience? What do you think about the situation at the border? I'm undecided about it. I ran into a young mother named Laurel Kadenna on the streets of Eagle Pass, and it was in downtown Eagle Pass. And just hours before, there had actually been two groups of protesters, one against illegal immigration and a pro-former.

Donald Trump and the other one for immigrants and trying to show support for them at the border. I think it's crazy having people with Trump signs driving around. I think that's just extra. You know, we know you like Trump. You don't have to shout it from your car, you know. And both sides have been facing off and very loud. And I met Laurel two hours later when they were all gone and things were quiet. And Eagle Pass was back to how it might normally be on a Sunday. And she was walking there and she said she's been coming to this downtown shopping area. there since she's a kid. What do you think of the bar, the concertina wire and the shipping containers that are

lined right here down in Shelby Park now? Honestly, it's crazy because as a kid, I used to come downtown shopping all the time, right? I've never stopped. I love downtown shopping. It's cheap. It's affordable. You can get scissors for 99 cents. I'm not going to Walmart if I can go downtown, you know?

She feels that the city has been put in the center of this political debate and that essentially, the actions that Texas Governor Abbott are taking to put up razor wire and to secure the border are extreme and that she thinks migrants will try and find a way to cross regardless and that the priority should be to help them and to aid them if they're, say, crossing the river there and potentially in danger. Many migrants have drowned in the last year or so trying to cross and it can be a dangerous crossing and even the concertina wire itself can be dangerous and there have been reports of people who've been cut and injured why they've been trying to navigate their way into the U.S.

It hits my heart more, you know, because, like, the kids don't deserve to suffer for their parents' decisions, you know. So for her, she was tired of Eagle Pass being put in this position and hoping that maybe both sides could find a resolution that would be humane to the migrants who are crossing as well. Before all of this, what was the relationship between Eagle Pass? and Mexico. How did the people feel about being a border town? Eagle Pass is a city where you can sense

that there are deep ties on both sides of the border. Just walking through the downtown, many of the signs, if not most of them, are in Spanish. People are speaking Spanish first before English, and many people are bilingual as well. Throughout the city, people will tell you that Eagle Pass depends on shoppers who come from Mexico, people buying things, people visiting their family there, and many people will talk about how they have family on both sides of the border. I think that the two cities are intertwined, and what has become a point of stress is the high levels of migration in the past year or so, not necessarily of Mexicans, but of people coming from Venezuela, people coming from Central America, people coming from the Caribbean or even

other parts of the world. And because of the political standoff in the U.S., it's created tensions within this city where we've seen this central park, Shelby Park, basically militarized and locked down in an effort to try and stop migrants from crossing. It's been a major disruption not just to the city, but to the sort of longstanding cross-border relationship that they've had with Mexico there as well. One other thing I would mention is that Eagle Pass, which is located in a county, Maverick County, is a largely democratic city, and Maverick County actually went for Biden, and Donald Trump won the state of Texas,

but Maverick County was one of these outliers where you saw President Biden with somewhat of an advantage. So there is a tension within this city between wanting to enforce the law and wanting to have calm at the border and humane treatment to migrants who are crossing as well. And I think as we've seen, one issue that I heard time and time again

that was a problem for residents there was the closure of the legal border crossings. They really did not want to see them closed. They knew it would damage the city economically. And there are just many people that are crossing back and forth. And it just makes life difficult if you have to wait hours and hours to return back to the U.S. So I think there's a general sense that people want to return to normal sea, then maybe just differences on how to get to that point, but where there can be normal transit across the border and have the city be out of this political spotlight that has been in for the last few months. Thanks again to Ted for his reporting and for talking with us. The podcast is produced by

myself, Tara Oaks, Christopher Wall, Jasper, and David Spencer. Kim Vennel is our regular host. Our senior producer is Carmel Krimmins, Leila de Kretzer is our executive producer. Engineering and Sound Design by Josh Summer. We'll be back tomorrow with our regular daily headline show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player or download the Rogers app.