GOP governors back at Texas border to keep pressure on Biden over migrant crossings
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, center, and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, right, stand with fellow governors as they listen to Texas Gov Greg Abbott, seated left, during a news conference along the Rio Grande to discuss Operation Lone Star and border concerns, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Abbott returned to the Eagle Pass border to highlight his escalating attempts to curb illegal crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — As more than a dozen Republican governors gathered Sunday on the Texas border, Kyle Willis was across the river in Mexico considering his next move to enter the U.S.
The 23-year-old Jamaican, who said he left his country after facing attacks and discrimination due to his sexuality, had followed the path of a historic number of migrants over the past two years and tried crossing the Rio Grande at the border city of Eagle Pass. But he waded back across the river after spending hours, in soaking clothes, failing to persuade Texas National Guard soldiers behind a razor wire fence to let him through.
"It's not just something they're saying to deter persons from coming in. It's actually real," said Willis, who for now is staying at a shelter in Piedras Negras.
Support Local News
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
Daily Inter Lake - everything
Print delivery, e-edition and unlimited website access
- $26.24 per month
Daily Inter Lake - unlimited website access
- $9.95 per month