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Texan and New Mexican Democrats denounced Texas Governor Greg Abbott for ordering the Texas National Guard to place razor wire to create a barrier between New Mexico and Texas along a stretch of the Rio Grande.
Abbott alleged migrants were crossing into Texas from New Mexico, and posted links on social media earlier this month to news coverage of troops unrolling concertina wire on the banks of the river.
In a joint statement, the Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa and Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Jessica Velasquez called the fencing the “latest Operation Lone Star stunt funded by the working Texas family’s tax-dollar”.
The statement went on to say that the wire will result in environmental damage, community division and injuries of migrants, and called for its removal.
During an online meeting with officials from southern New Mexico last week, Democratic U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez, whose 2nd Congressional District encompasses the border with Mexico, said that the move was unhelpful.
“Between the two states, there needs to be better cooperation. I don’t think putting concertina wire in the Texas section of the Rio Grande in New Mexico is really going to solve anything,” he said.
In the meeting, Vasquez also heard from law enforcement officers from the border city of Sunland Park that they recover growing numbers of dead migrants from the border area, and that young people get pulled into smuggling rings.
Next to Sunland Park, a tall mountain straddles the border – that makes it hard to build a fence or wall there, but also makes it perilous for those who try to cross.
Vasquez called for greater cooperation and funding for border infrastructure; from funding to law enforcement agencies to lighting on the border to better water treatment to enable border businesses to succeed.
The Republican Party of New Mexico praised Abbott’s actions in a statement, saying he is taking border security seriously.
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