‘Civil War’: Fears US about to explode as Border Patrol and National Guard go head to head in Texas

Armed wings of the US government are in confrontation and there are concerns things could turn very ugly at a riverside park in Texas.

National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

There are dark warnings the US could slip into “civil war” due to a bizarre standoff in a Texas park that some fear could see different arms of the American government in open and armed conflict with one another.

The federal US Border Patrol (USBP) and Texas’ National Guard are now in a face-to-face confrontation to see who will blink first.

The epicentre of the feud is the municipal Shelby Park in the small Texan town of Eagle Pass, 230km south west of San Antonio. The town – and its park – hug the Rio Grande river that marks the frontier.

It is the job of USBP guards to patrol the border. But earlier this month Texas authorised its National Guard to take over the riverside park. Normally a green patch with a golf course and baseball field, the National Guard had now essentially militarised it.

The troops have strung up barbed wire and fencing in an attempt to reduce the number of people illegally crossing the river and scrambling through the park as they reach the US.

The government in Washington DC has demanded Texas remove the fortifications – or it will.

Texas National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Last month, a record 225,000 migrants crossed the border illegally, many by wading through the dangerous Rio Grande.

Republican governors have accused the Joe Biden led Democratic government in Washington DC of not doing enough to stop the flow of migrants and so have claimed they have had to take matters into their own hands.

The federal government, in turn, has claimed Republicans are exacerbating the border issue by not passing beefed up security legislation.

There have also been accusations that presidential hopeful Donald Trump was actively encouraging Republicans to stymie any deal on the border in Congress so it can become an election issue.

National Guard soldiers stand guard at an entrance to Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The erection of barbed wire and fences is an escalation of tactics from Republican border states that have also taken to bussing newly arrived migrants, many from Central America, to Democratic run cities such as New York.

States have said they simply don’t have the capacity to deal with the influx.

In recent weeks, Texas Governor Greg Abbott – an unabashed critic of Mr Biden – launched “Operation Lone Star”.

“Because the Biden administration has really, truly abdicated its responsibility to secure the border and enforce the laws, Texas, very simply, is securing the border,” Mr Abbott told Fox News.

Operation Lone Star has involved the Texas National Guard – a military reserve force that is under the dual control of the state and federal governments.

Each state has a National Guard, many of which are derived from militias that existed prior to the formation of the USA.

Its key role is to add extra troops to the US military in times of war but it can also, for instance, help with disaster relief and support the policing of protests. While it is not unheard of for the various state National Guards to help bolster manpower at the border – that's in co-operation with the Border Patrol not in opposition to it.

US President Joe Biden greets Texas Governor Greg Abbott in more cordial times. Picture: MANDREL NGAN / AFP

The federal justice department has said the wire and fencing put up by Texas has prevented border agents from doing their job by denying them access to the border, even in the event of emergency.

It has said a mother and her two children died in the Rio Grande because border agents were not able to monitor the waterway.

Texas has said this isn’t the case and the park remains open.

National Guard soldiers on the banks of the Rio Grande river. (Photo by Brandon Bell / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Texas National Guard soldiers install additional razor wire lie along the Rio Grande. (Photo by JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Biden’s court win

The Biden administration took the furore to the Supreme Court this week. It ruled the federal government was within its rights to remove the razor wire.

It was a notable win for Mr Biden as the Supreme Court leans conservative with three justices appointed by Mr Trump when he was in office.

Provocatively, the National Guard has unfurled even more wire since the Supreme Court ruling.

A slew of Republican governors have now backed Texas and said they are ready to truck in more barbed wire if needed.

For his part, Mr Abbott has used militaristic language and said the National Guard will “hold the line” at Eagle Pass and “will not back down” in securing the border.

It’s causing exasperation in the Democratic Party which sees the actions as pure political theatre.

“Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border” Democratic congressman Joaquin Castro said.

He has suggested the Texas National Guard should be taken over entirely by Washington DC.

Former President Donald Trump has supported Texas. (Photo by Michael Gonzalez / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Trump encourages Texas

Mr Trump meanwhile has waded into the issue and encouraged “all willing states to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of illegals”.

“All Americans should support the common sense measures by Texas,” he added.

The impasse could see US Border Patrol officers and the Texas National Guard confronting each other at the park.

Online, there have been multiple suggestions the face off could lead to a “Civil War”.

The term has been used not just by those who support Texas’ actions but also from academics who fear the country is so polarised some people would be happy to take up arms.

It seems farfetched that border guards and the National Guard would start fighting, particularly as the Texas troops could end up being prosecuted.

A constitutional lawyer from Texas has said the face off is due partly to increasingly belligerent Republican states trying to grab more powers usually held by DC.

“There’s more here than just a petulant governor,” David Coale told the UK news website The independent.

“It’s a broad strategy to change the balance of federal-state power, just like the long campaign to overturn Roe vs. Wade (which saw the ending guaranteed nationwide abortion access).

“You have a federal force and state force colliding with each other. That was a very difficult time,” he said, referring to an incident in 1957 when federal troops were sent to Arkansas to ensure schools were desegregated.

“Those were not great moments in our nation’s history.

“To see that happening again is unfortunate,” Mr Coale said.