‘Take back our border’: Texas protesters rally against migrant ‘invasion’

One of the event’s organizers called those gathered here “God’s Army.”

Hundreds of people in trucks, vans and RVs gathered in South Texas on Saturday to rally against what they called an “invasion” of immigrants and demand tough new controls on the U.S.-Mexico border.

One of the vehicles heading towards Quemado (population 162) had the words “Join God’s Fight” scrawled on the side.

The caravan’s decision to converge on the town along the Rio Grande, which forms the natural border between the United States and Mexico, comes as debate rages again over how to deal with record numbers of migrants crossing the border.

For nearly a month, hundreds of thousands of people from Central and South America and elsewhere have waded across the river in hopes of a better life in the United States.

But their sheer numbers have become a concern, especially ahead of the November presidential election, with congressional Republicans blocking additional U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel amid calls for President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to block funding flow.

So, in tiny Quemado, a militant group calling themselves “We the People” (the first sentence in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution) decided to meet and express their outrage.

One of the event’s organizers suggested divine support for their cause, calling those gathered here “God’s army.”

Under the slogan “Take Back Our Border,” the activists formed a convoy from across the United States and arrived in towns along the border this weekend to camp and protest.

“Migration at the border is out of control,” Robyn Forzano, 43, who was guarding the entrance to Quemado Ranch where protesters had gathered, told AFP.

“We are being invaded, you know, and ultimately we have to be able to control what’s going on,” he said, echoing what Republican leaders and conservative media pundits have said in recent weeks.

Many of the arriving vehicles had signs supporting former President Donald Trump, the Republican’s most popular figure in this fall’s election, or slamming his likely opponent, incumbent Joe Biden.

One activist’s sign read: “Heaven has walls, hell has open borders.”

“disaster area”

“The Mexican people are a wonderful, beautiful people and we love them,” 73-year-old Trump supporter Marty Byrd told AFP in the nearby town of Eagle Pass.

“But it seems like once they get here… they become armed. You know, they get angry. They rob, they commit burglaries,” he claimed.

Eagle Pass, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Quemado, has become the center of a thorny conflict between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the Biden administration.

The federal government is suing Abbott over his control of a park that includes ramps to the river and has razor wire along its banks.

In mid-January, the Biden administration complained that the Texas National Guard prevented federal border police from reaching the river to try to rescue three migrants who ended up drowning.

Texas rejected the charge.

Biden has appealed the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has authorized border police to cut the razor wire.

But a defiant Abbott ordered more fencing and won support from Republican governors across the country who sent their own guards or resources to the border.

House Republicans have seized on the issue to launch historic impeachment proceedings against Biden’s Homeland Security chief, with a vote expected in the coming weeks.

“The river is a disaster zone today,” Jesse Fuentes, who owns a kayak rental business near the Rio Grande, told reporters. “It’s becoming a military base.”

He added: “Certain individuals or groups calling themselves ‘God’s Army’ are coming into our communities to spread hatred and division.

“It bothers me because this is not who we are.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)