Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Tuesday reportedly mocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's planned base for housing National Guard troops along the border.
"It's like the governor of Texas who put a military camp on the border. Put as many as you want! Supposedly, this is how he is going to stop the migrants. Pure politicking! It is not serious," López Obrador said during his morning press conference, according to Proceso.
His comment came in response to Abbott's announcement on Friday that Texas will build an operations base for up to 1,800 National Guard members in Eagle Pass, expanding the presence of soldiers in the border city where the state has clashed with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement.
The 80-acre property along the Rio Grande will open a short distance from Shelby Park, the riverfront area where Texas National Guard members installed miles of razor wire and began denying access to U.S. Border Patrol agents.
"This will increase the ability for a larger number of Texas military department personnel in Eagle Pass to operate more effectively and more efficiently," Abbott said.
Abbott said the camp will improve living conditions for soldiers who are deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, an issue that troubled the Guard's mission during the early months of Operation Lone Star. The camp will be constructed in phases of 300 beds every 30 days with the first phase expected to be completed by April, Maj. General Suelzer, the head of the Texas Military Department, said. The complex will include three command posts, weapons storage rooms and a helicopter pad, he said.
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Texas officials continue to seize control of Shelby Park, north of the campgrounds, as part of Abbott’s expanding border mission. The mayor of Eagle Pass said the move at the start of January caught the city off guard and questioned the timing, given that crossings have fallen in recent weeks.
The U.S. Justice Department last month asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to allow Border Patrol agents back into park. The Biden administration says Border Patrol agents use the park to monitor the river and to launch boats into the Rio Grande.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
