5/10/23
By Lee Goodman
They put on a show for us today.
A couple of dozen members of the Texas National Guard assembled on a road near the border and marched a few yards, just so the news cameras could get pictures of them marching in their riot gear. But they weren't going anywhere and there was no riot.
Later in the day, we saw what was really going on. Small groups of migrants – fewer than a dozen in each group – were slowly walking across a shallow part of the river that separates the US from Mexico. The migrants were mostly wearing T-shirts and jeans. Some were barefoot. None had any weapons. None of them were acting aggressively. They held their few belongings over their heads to keep them dry. They were just trying to get into the US, in broad daylight, obviously in view of the soldiers, so that they could surrender themselves to US authorities and ask for asylum.
But the migrants couldn't get in, because the soldiers had strung razor wire all along the bank of the river. The soldiers were standing just on the US side of the wire, so they could push back any migrants who were daring enough to risk slashing their flesh trying to climb over the wire to get into the US.
At the press event, the commander of the marching soldiers made a big deal of saying he coordinated with federal border security agencies. But when I asked him if the federal government had asked the Texas National Guard to come to the border and help guard it, he said plainly, “No.” He said he was there with his troops because Texas Governor Abbott had ordered them to be there. I asked what the legal authority was for having the Texas National Guard keeping asylum seekers out of the US, and the answer was that there was no specific authority, but that the governor could use the National Guard however he wanted.
A reporter asked if the soldiers were prepared to use their guns on the migrants, and the answer was that they would if less lethal methods weren't enough.
Walking back over the bridge to come home after visiting the migrant camp in Mexico, we were delayed for a few minutes because a young man was being refused entry into the US, and his limp body was blocking the sidewalk. He was not responding to either the Mexican or US border guards. He seemed to be in some sort of stupor. The two people who accompanied him explained that he had a medical appointment on the US side, and they showed some papers to the guards. They wouldn't let him pass, so his companions lifted him up and carried him back across towards the Mexico side of the bridge. One of our group who was a littler further back on the bridge said that the man collapsed on the road a few minutes later. None of the reporters who had been at the marching performance earlier in the day was there to see the man lying on the ground in acute medical distress. Of course, none of the Texas National Guard was there to help him.
The soldiers marching in their helmets with their shields and armor and weapons seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were chatting with each other and looked relaxed. It didn't look like they felt they were in any danger. I spoke with several of the reporters. None of them seemed worried that migrants would cause them any harm. The people we saw on both sides of the border were going about their lives without any indication that the migrants were a problem. We walked freely through the migrant camp and were greeted by many people with a friendly “Buenas tardes.” But Governor Abbott had his National Guard marching nowhere to show that he was keeping us safe. We would have been just as safe if the National Guard hadn't been there at all. We had never been in any danger. Except the danger that people who watch the news will believe Governor Abbott when he tells them that the migrants are invading the US and are a threat to his state and the nation.
Photo: Allan Mestel