EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A sports venue 30 miles north of El Paso is getting ready to welcome the controversial Take Our Border Back Convoy as it makes its way to Arizona to protest President Biden’s immigration policies.
The convoy is scheduled to arrive in Vado, New Mexico, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, with music, prayer and a rally scheduled to take place at Vado Speedway Park, 15900 Stern Drive, in Vado, the sports venue announced on its Facebook page. The convoy was scheduled to depart near Austin, Texas, early Thursday and proceed along Interstate 10 to Arizona. Vado is a New Mexico town along I-10 West.
The caravan of trucks, recreational vehicles and other conveyances will depart Vado at 9:30 a.m. on Friday and proceed to Yuma, Arizona, for a Saturday rally and events. It is one of three nationwide caravans converging on the border on Feb. 3. The other two are headed for Eagle Pass, Texas, and San Ysidro, California.
In online posts and television interviews, caravan members say they are fed up with the administration allegedly not enforcing immigration laws and allowing a record number of unauthorized non-citizens to remain in the country.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, more than 302,000 unauthorized citizens illegally crossed into the United States between ports of entry in December.
Texas political figures appear split along party lines about the convoy passing through their state.
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said she is “deeply concerned” about rising anti-immigrant rhetoric and that rhetoric is often accompanied by a pro-gun stance.
“(That) can promote some really dangerous situations for border communities. I’m trying to get more information about some of these groups,” Escobar said in a Wednesday online briefing with reporters. “My hope is that our local law enforcement agencies are on high alert and, certainly, we will be doing everything we can to make sure our federal law enforcement agencies are on high alert.”
But former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, on Wednesday told NewsNation it’s good the convoy is bringing attention to a critical issue.
“My hat’s off to these folks and God bless them for helping Texas and not just Texas but the other 49 states that are being impacted by this border that’s absolutely out of control,” Perry said. “The illegal immigration that’s happening is stunning. […] This is bigger than anybody realizes.”
Perry talked about the arrests of 13,000 alleged smugglers in Texas in the past three years and how the state is fighting as best it can a public safety crisis at its border with Mexico.
“If the federal government doesn’t do it, then the state has that responsibility for their citizens,” Perry said.
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