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Jack Beavers
Abbott vs Biden-Harris Border Battle
3 days ago
Texas Military Forces held tactical drills on the Rio Grande before the seizure of Fronton Island aka "Cartel Island" (May 18, 2022)Photo byTexas Military Department
A long-simmering battle between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden-Harris Administration over control of a contested strip of land in the Rio Grande some call "Cartel Island" has erupted again. And Texas isn't backing down.
At issue is a 170-acre island Texas declared as state land and seized control of last year. For years Mexican Cartels had exploited Fronton Island's unofficial status among U.S. authorities as "no man's land" - and (until Texas removed it) - used its dense vegetation as cover to smuggle weapons and contraband across the border.
Aerial view of "Fronton Island" after the State of Texas seized control and stripped it of heavy vegetation cartels used for cover.Photo byOffice of Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Surveillance cameras had captured images of armed CDN (Cartel del Noreste) members on the disputed island in the Rio Grande in Starr County for some time.
More often than not, though, cartel operatives used the island's thick vegetation to successfully hide from U.S. authorities and flee to the safety of Mexico. Often they would throw away their weapons and ammo to lighten their load as they outran officers through the brush.
Automatic weapon thrown into the Rio Grande by cartel gunrunners fleeing Border Patrol Agents on Fronton Island (August, 2023).Photo byU.S. Border Patrol
Special Operations Group of the Texas Rangers plants the Lone Star signalling state control of Fronton Island (October 2, 2023)Photo byOffice of Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Since then, the International Boundary & Water Commission (which has authority over the Rio Grande) has complained Texas actions violate the terms of a treaty between the U.S. and Mexico.
"I will not cede state land to transnational criminal cartels smuggling people, weapons, and drugs. Nor will I sit idly by as these threats endanger Texas law enforcement and Texas communities. I will, instead, continue to utilize every lawful tool to secure Texas’s border and defend its citizens." Texas Governor Greg Abbott letter to President Biden & Vice-President Harris (Sept. 9, 2024)
Texas Land Commissioner Dr. Dawn Buckingham's response was even more blunt:
The dispute is likely headed to the U.S. Federal Courts.
Do you support Texas or the Biden-Harris Administration in the battle for control of Fronton Island?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
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A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies shows that President Joe Biden’s administration flew roughly 320,000 illegal immigrants into 43 different U.S. airports from multiple foreign airports last year, allowing the Biden administration to bypass border security data by directly transporting illegal immigrants into the U.S. from other countries. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the report was uncovered as the result of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the organization. The Center for Immigration Studies noted, “The public now knows that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has approved secretive flights that last year alone ferried hundreds of thousands of inadmissible aliens from foreign airports into some 43 American ones over the past year, all pre-approved on a cell phone app
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