Eagle Pass, TX–The tiny town of Eagle Pass has become a top destination for border crossers in the last several years. In December 2023, the numbers peaked, with Border Patrol arresting more than 70,000 in its Del Rio, Texas sector which includes Eagle Pass. Local authorities report a lull at the start of 2024 but anticipate that crossings could easily surge again in the spring and summer months.
For this community of just 30,000, the tens of thousands of migrants crossing from Mexico into the US each month have sapped resources, including lengthening hospital waits and squeezing the local economy with bridge delays. It’s also lost Shelby Park, a city recreational area, now controlled by Gov. Abbott’s Lone Star operation.
Most residents of Eagle Pass have been affected in some way but the city’s firefighters have experienced the deadly nature of the border crisis and it has taken a toll.
For these first responders, the border crisis is ever-present, and calls to help migrants have spiked in the last year.
In 2023, Eagle Pass firefighters transported hundreds of migrants to the local hospital and rescued or recovered them, often daily, in the Rio Grande River.
These calls in turn drained the
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