EAGLE PASS, Texas — Former President Donald J. Trump visited the small Texas border town of Eagle Pass on Thursday, offering his assessment of the current border situation. Trump began by describing the horrible murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia at Athens. The former President blamed the murder of Riley and other crime victims on what he referred to as the “Joe Biden Invasion.”
Trump’s remarks included details concerning his plan to regain control of the border as he lamented the deliberate destruction of the most secure border in history. The destruction occurred on January 21, 2021, with President Joe Biden canceling the former president’s strict and successful border policies. Trump’s statement described his assessment of the border, saying, “Three years ago, we had the most secure border in history, people weren’t coming because they knew they couldn’t get in, we weren’t promising free education, free medical, free everything.”
Trump went on to tout the progress towards securing the border under his administration, saying, “We ended catch and release, we built 571 miles of border wall, much more than I promised I would build.” Trump added, “We purchased another 200 miles (of wall materials), and they sold that — much of it for five cents on the dollar.”
Trump went on to describe the removal policies canceled President Biden’s watch, including “Remain in Mexico,” Asylum Cooperative Agreements (ACA’s) to speed asylum adjudication while migrants wait in Central American northern triangle countries, and the Title 42 COVID-19 expulsion mechanism.
A statement from Texas Governor Greg Abbott followed Trump’s brief remarks. The governor touted the success of his border barrier project and the numerous narcotics seizures and migrant arrests through his Operation Lone Star initiatives.
According to Abbott’s office, as of February 22, the state has made more than 40,000 criminal arrests and seized more than 114 million lethal doses of Fentanyl. The operation also netted 9,811 illegal firearms and resulted in the arrest of more than 500,000 migrants along the Texas-Mexico border.
Abbott also described plans to construct an Army National Guard military base near Eagle Pass. The “fort” is designed to house 1,800 soldiers with an additional surge capacity of 500. According to Abbott, the facility will include a dining hall and space for welfare and recreation activities for the soldiers.
After their brief remarks to media members present for the event, Abbott and Trump departed the small border park where nearly 5,000 migrants crossed daily into the United States during December. The number of migrant crossings has dropped in the area from a high of 71,048 in December to 13,101 for the first three weeks of February, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
