Texas Expands Razor Wire and Fencing Along New Mexico Border
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – U.S. Border Patrol encounters with unauthorized migrants have dropped significantly since June. Despite this decrease, Texas Governor Greg Abbott continues to express concern over the approximately 58,000 migrants who manage to cross the Rio Grande or border wall each month.
Governor Abbott criticized the Biden administration in a tweet on Saturday, stating, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have allowed more illegal immigrants to cross our southern border than ever before. Texas is fighting back. We are tripling our razor wire border barriers to deny illegal entry into our state and our country.”
In response, Texas Army National Guard troops have been working to enhance border security by laying additional fencing and rows of concertina wire along the Rio Grande in the El Paso area. A KTSM camera crew observed the soldiers installing the razor wire and fencing on the riverbank, which, notably, faces New Mexico rather than Mexico.
Earlier this year, Texas extended its barrier at a point where the river turns north into New Mexico, driven by concerns that illegal smuggling activities in New Mexico might impact Texas. During the summer, several migrants caught in strong river currents were rescued by border agents and first responders from the El Paso and Sunland Park, New Mexico, fire departments.
The Santa Teresa Station in New Mexico remains one of the busiest Border Patrol stations in the nation, particularly for migrant smuggling. This fiscal year has seen numerous encounters with deceased migrants in the desert near Sunland Park. The New Mexico-facing concertina barrier stretches from West Paisano Drive to the Texas side of the Anapra, N.M., bridge between El Paso and Sunland Park.