Texas Border: Soldiers Can Arrest Migrants - Texan Reported Killed by Cartel IED
Attack occurred in Mexican Border state the US has warned about travel
It has been a busy, deadly, and game-changing weekend - along the Texas-Mexico Border.
First came word from NewsNation and Breitbart News that Texas troops assigned to the "Operation Lone Star" border security mission are being given immigration arrest authority by the Trump Administration. Texas has stationed thousands of National Guard troops along the Rio Grande,- so this could have a considerable impact there.
32-year Border Patrol veteran Randy Clark reports that at least one federal immigration officer would accompany the soldiers' patrols of the Rio Grande.
Unfortunately, it has also been a deadly weekend along the Texas-Mexico border.
Breitbart News on Sunday -citing "Mexican law enforcement sources" - confirmed unofficial reports that began circulating in Mexico Friday that a Texan was killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by a Mexican Cartel exploded under his truck last week on a roadway in the State of Tamaulipas (which is just across the river from Texas).
The fatal incident has been confirmed by Tamaulipas State media accounts (which say two men were killed in the blast and a woman was injured) - but there has been no mention of the nationality of the victims.
As I write this, US authorities have not commented on the incident.
Days earlier, the US State Department had issued a "Level 4 - Do Not Travel" Advisory to US citizens considering travel to Tamaulipas due to extraordinary levels of Mexican Cartel violence there.
The map below shows the area to which US residents are warned against travel:
Before the US advisory was issued, the State of Tamaulipas had warned motorists about avoiding IEDs there:
The weekend also saw Kristi Noem at the border for the first time since she was appointed to head the US Department of Homeland Security a week ago. Noem toured Del Rio, Texas - and did her best to channel her "inner cowgirl" for the visit:
The Texas Border trip is part of a whirlwind tour that first saw her visit the US-Canadian Border after joining an ICE Immigration raid in New York last week.
On Sunday, Noem saddled up for a ride with a Border Patrol's "Horse Patrol" Unit before departing Del Rio:
Elsewhere along the Texas - Mexico border, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets for several hours in McAllen Saturday to protest ICE Raids resulting from President Trump's Immigration policies.
Large protests were also reported in Texas cities far from the border. In Dallas, police issued multiple messages on social media asking motorists to avoid driving in Downtown Dallas if they could due to crowds taking to the streets.
Large protests were also reported in Houston on Saturday & Sunday. In nearby Conroe, five demonstrators were arrested after the mayor said they “became aggressive, disorderly, and unlawful and assaulted a Conroe police officer.”
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Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
