6/14/24
A Vigil for Justice - Why We Went & What We Witnessed
April 10 - 24, 2024 Witness at the Border held A Vigil for Justice in Eagle Pass, Texas.
We went to stand with the people of Eagle Pass against the militarization of the city’s Shelby Park, which has denied locals access to their park or the Rio Grande River. Their daily lives have been disrupted by this intrusion, although they carry on as the resilient folks in the borderlands always do. Shelby Park is being used as a post for Texas Gov Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star to halt migration. Ignoring National and International immigration law, cruel and absurd practices and obstructions have placed asylum seekers in grave danger and many have died. We went to Eagle Pass to call attention to the dangerous situation there and demand the Federal Government intervene to ensure migrating people are treated with dignity and compassion.
Those who joined our vigil reacted in different ways to what we witnessed, but we all shared the same concerns and horror at what we saw:
From the banks of the river on the Mexican side where we could observe the military activity in Shelby Park, we witnessed a heavily pregnant woman, her child and three other travelers from Ecuador, already on American soil, plead for admittance at the gates of the park that is surrounded by coils of concertina wire. They were denied and told to move on. A short time later two young Cuban men were also turned away. It was heartbreaking to witness.
We witnessed young National Guards from 20 states that are nowhere near the border. Some didn’t know why they were there and some said they were there to be the “eyes and ears” of this invasion. It made us wonder how indoctrinating their training for this mission was and what message they will take home.
The environmental effects of Operation Lone Star are evident along the river banks, in the park and on the site where Camp Eagle was being constructed when we were there. This barracks style portable housing on 80 acres will house up to 2,300 National Guards and Texas Military Guard on barren land in close proximity to a waste treatment facility, a cement plant and down a dusty caliche road. We worried about the mental and physical health of soldiers placed in the environment created by Operation Lone Star.
More than 6 weeks later, the struggle continues in Eagle Pass, with the added impact of new immigration enforcement from the Federal level. Greg Abbott continues to spread lies about being invaded by migrants, when in fact, he is the invader.