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PROGRESO, Texas – A helicopter flew over the cloudy skies near the border Thursday morning and raised debris as it landed in a swirl of dust and noise.
Eight officers jumped, dressed and ready to fight, near the bridge that connects the United States to Mexico in the border town of Progreso. Wearing helmets, bullet-proof vests, and combat fatigues, they squatted down and targeted military-style rifles at various locations in the distance. When a woman who had just crossed the bridge stopped to record the scene on her mobile phone, the helicopter resurfaced again; the officers formed a line, ran inside and left.
The first wave of the new deployment of the army, President Trump ordered at the southern border?
Not enough.
The helicopter and the officers were part of the parent agency of the Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection. But as thousands of soldiers were preparing to deploy in South Texas and at other places along the border as part of the active troop mobilization by Mr. Exercise training was the sign of a new hardening of the border gradually taking shape, involving several agencies, not just the army.
Authorities have installed new screened doors and fences on the Progreso International Bridge, near Thursday's exercise site, offering officials a crowd control tool for the first time by allowing them, where appropriate , to completely close the bridge to cars. and pedestrians from Mexico.
The new barriers remained open on Thursday. But additional fencing, military drills and the arrival of equipment and small groups of Army members in front of a large contingent of troops expected represent a much more visible representation of D & # 39; A militarized border that observed in southern Texas in recent years. .
Many details about the dates and places of arrival of the new military units remain unclear. A handful of soldiers have already arrived and been spotted at the so-called entry points along the Texas border, including international bridges, and thousands of others have been placed in state of readiness at the border. deployment. Authorities have identified more than a dozen bases in Texas, California and Arizona that will serve as logistical hubs for what has been called Operation Faithful Patriot.
In total, up to 15,000 soldiers, mostly from the army, will provide technical and logistical support. They will be armed but have been ordered not to engage directly with the migrants. Mr Trump announced on Thursday that he would be allowed to defend himself against threats, including migrants throwing stones.
Officials said the forces were gathering in military facilities for now, as it's unclear where their main concern is at the border – several caravans from Central America's migrants, the first of which is located now in central Mexico -.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump described the caravans – including thousands of families, many with children, hoping to escape violence and poverty in their home country – as a threat to national security. "It's like an invasion," he said, of "incredibly brutal people."
"We have already sent our border to the US Army," he said. "They will do the work. They are getting ready now. "
The presence of the army on the southern border is not new. The Democratic and Republican presidents have commanded troops in the region in recent decades. Texas Republican leaders appealed to the National Guard under the Obama administration to keep them there. Hundreds of National Guard soldiers began to attend the Border Patrol in April as part of Trump's previous call to the US border.
Part of this invisibility seems to be judged less necessary now. The authorities indicated that Customs and Border Protection organized training exercises such as the one held on Thursday in Progreso several times a year, but that the time and location near the border crossing appeared to be more than a coincidence, coming the same day as Mr Trump described a hardened strategy for retaining migrants and processing asylum applications.
"We are going to witness a torso beating on the part of US military power," said Rep. Filemon B. Vela Jr., a Brownsville Democrat whose Congressional District includes the Training Zone. "The orders come from the top, directly from the president himself, so these guys are serving the president. It's an electoral scam. "
Mr. Vela said that the sending of army troops on active service to the border was a misguided and costly use of the army, and that the recent deployment of the National Guard by M Trump gave the reason.
"Two months ago, I was preparing a bridge in Brownsville and I finally saw the National Guard," Vela said. "Do you know what they were doing? They were distributing water and helping people to park. I had not seen them before that time and I have not seen them since. "
Although the migrants in the caravan are still a few weeks away from the border, officials in South Texas have been busy preparing for their arrival.
Last week, the Senior Border Patrol Officer in the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas convened more than 20 mayors, law enforcement officials and other regional leaders at the McAllen Border Monitoring Station.
The Rio Grande Valley sector is the busiest in the country for arrests of unauthorized immigrants. The agent, Manuel Padilla Jr., said he had convened the meeting to prepare for the eventual arrival of the first caravan. Padilla told attendees that the caravan could arrive at the southern border of Texas, but that it could also end up in cities as far away as California. Local authorities are particularly concerned about the risk of long queues on international bridges, as those of the caravan seek to enter the United States and apply for asylum.
"As far as we're concerned, we want to make sure that we focus on entry points, so that the bridges are sufficiently supported so that people can go through the harbor and ask for asylum," said Sister Norma. Pimentel, assistant. the meeting as leader of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which assists migrants after their treatment at the border and their release. She expressed concern that such groups could not overwhelm facilities along the border.
Officials discussed how to provide health assistance to migrants. And since the meeting, officials have explored options to add temporary housing, including in churches, because existing temporary shelters are inadequate.
Chief Victor Rodriguez of the McAllen Police Department, who was also at the meeting, said he was always ready to help other agencies. But he did not know what mission was to be carried out as the caravan continued to move towards the United States and the troops were ready to deploy.
"You've heard the following saying," It's a moving target, "said Chief Rodriguez," It's not even a target yet, it's just moving, it's like Jell-O. has so many moving elements in this business, and until we know what mission we are trying to carry out, it is difficult for us to even plan to provide assistance. "
The chief stated that he did not believe that military options would be required if and when the migrant caravan arrived in Texas. "My opinion is: if you were the person on the caravan and suddenly see images of the army at the border, you get the message you did not want," he said. declared.
