Border Patrol and Rio Grande Valley residents respond to policy changes under the Trump administration amid ongoing challenges at the southern border.
Long before dawn breaks over South Texas, U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector begin their patrols, navigating well-worn paths near McAllen through wildlife preserves and citrus fields nestled between the winding river and the border wall.
“They become impatient,” Smallwood said. “They do need to keep in mind if they do make illegal entry and are apprehended by Border Patrol or other entity, they do face Title 8 sanctions.”Migrants who do cross illegally often attempt to blend in with farm workers. In the past, the Rio Grande Valley sector registered as many as 2,500 crossings daily, leading to makeshift processing centers under bridges. While crossings have dropped, illegal encounters jumped last month, creating concerns.
Forty-two miles west in Starr County, a campaign promise could be realized on a 1,400-acre ranch recently acquired by Texas and offered to the Trump administration for a detention or deportation center. The state has already built a 1.5-mile steel border wall on the property, which Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says is ideal for a mass deportation base due to its proximity to McAllen’s airport.
“Starr County might make national news but Starr County hasn’t changed,” Alvarez said. “We’re still the same. We’re still 99% Hispanic. We’re not going to be moving out of here because we had a one-term president beat us on one election.”“It would be such a big shot in the arm. I don’t care if it’s Abbott or Trump proposing this thing, just do it,” Alvarez said. “If it’s just going to be a tent city like most of the little places are, it’s not going to be good for us.
When asked if the facility will be a permanent one, as is the hope of locals, Buckingham said: “I would anticipate not. I would anticipate it’s something that you can put up, use for the time needed and put down, hopefully with some leadership on some immigration reform.” The four-hour peak window for crossings passes with no encounters. No rescues. No loss of life in the RGV.
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