EAGLE PASS, Texas – State officials have implemented a new plan to secure the Texas-Mexico border under the order of Gov. Greg Abbott -- install nearly 20 shipping containers to create a steel wall.
The containers were placed Wednesday by the Texas National Guard and the Texas Dept. of Public Safety to prevent migrants from crossing over.
The containers are stretched along the Texas side of the Rio Grande that passes directly under the Eagle Pass–Piedras Negras International Bridge -- the same bridge where thousands of Haitian migrants gathered in September for several days, seeking asylum.
DPS officials said they also used concertina wire and increased personnel for the steel barrier to “block and repel criminal activity and stop violations of state law.”
Some residents in Eagle Pass say they’re in support of the governor’s “steel wall,” saying it could make a difference in border control.
“We have soldiers even stationed here, so we’re well protected. But if they come by force and everything, yes, they can cross over,” said Maria Rodriguez. “So now we wait. We have the defense here, the soldiers protecting us here, so we’re OK.”
Border Patrol confirms they have already seen some activity since the wall’s installation, and they detained a family of five that was trying to cross over.
The “steel wall” comes after DPS troopers made a mile-long wall of patrol vehicles in September along the riverbank in Del Rio, according to the Texas Tribune. More than 15,000 migrants from Haiti gathered under the international bridge for several days.
We’ll bring more updates to this story as they become available.