While the park is back open, certain areas along the Rio Grande remain prohibited to the public as discovered by one Eagle Pass immigration rights advocate.
SAN ANTONIO — Shelby Park in Eagle Pass has reopened to the public more than a year after the State of Texas took control of the site, which has stood at the national stage surrounding the debate on immigration policy.
“These gates are open. This is the first time in a year that we’re able to enter without having to answer questions with guards,” said Amerika Garcia-Grewal, an immigrant rights advocate with the organization Frontera Federation.
It was January 2024 when the Texas Department of Public Safety took over Shelby Park as part of Abbott’s Operation Lone Star to crack down on illegal migrant crossings.
The governor’s office released a statement that noted a drop in illegal border crossings prompted the decision to longer “maintain northern-facing barriers, though the state will maintain a presence on the border itself.”
Garcia-Grewal went live on social media over the weekend, giving viewers a tour of Shelby Park. As she found out, there was still a reduced presence of military and law enforcement personnel and the dirt road along the Rio Grande remains off limits to the public.
A Texas National Guard member is seen in the video pulling up next to Garcia-Grewal, unable to provide an explanation on how certain areas of Shelby Park being still restricted is communicated to the public.
“We still have a presence of vehicles, I’m guessing those are National Guard vehicles in the park, however the fence that once guarded them is now gone,” Garcia-Grewal said.
While military and law enforcement personnel have scaled back, Garcia-Grewal still has questions related to park upkeep and compensation and expanding public access.
“The State of Texas has continued to put money into over policing and militarizing our border when what we need in our border town is revitalization,” Garcia-Grewal said. “We still do not have access to the Shelby Park boat ramp, we still do not have access to the waterfront itself. They retreated to their sandbox and said we’re giving the park back to you and all they did was leave us with a mess and leave us with the trash.”