Texas builds barrier along New Mexico border to deter illegal immigrants

Texas is building a barrier along the New Mexico border to stop illegal immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border into New Mexico from entering El Paso, which is located in the far west side of the state, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said. 

A local Fox News affiliate reported last week that Texas National Guard members placed razor and barbed wire around El Paso along both the Rio Grande bank at the U.S. border with Mexico and at the border with New Mexico.

"Migrants are entering New Mexico illegally then crossing into Texas," Abbott said last week on X, formerly Twitter. "We are stopping it."

He said in another post this week: "Our barriers around El Paso forced the migrants crossing illegally to enter into New Mexico. They then entered into El Paso from there. To end that, we are building a barrier on the New Mexico border."

Abbott touted Wednesday that his state is the only one in U.S. history to build its own border wall, even as the Biden Administration tries to shut down the operation. 

The state border control initiative, known as Operation Lone Star, also includes the busing of thousands of immigrants to Democratic-controlled cities across the United States, including more than 20,000  who were sent to New York City and More than 15,000 who went to Chicago. 

It comes as illegal immigration hit a record high last fiscal year, with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reporting more than 2.8 million immigrant encounters from October 2022 through September 2023.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.