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By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
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The mayor of a Texas border community that has drawn national attention has reportedly not been invited to partake in a White House announcement this week.
The Biden administration on Tuesday is expected to announce asylum-related changes to its existing immigration policies. According to reports, President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order that would allow federal immigration authorities to swiftly deport migrants who attempt to enter the U.S. illegally outside ports of entry under the Donald Trump-era rule 212(f) that was known for its "travel ban" of some individuals from other countries. Unaccompanied children would not apply.
Currently, federal authorities are processing about 1,500 migrants for asylum by way of the CBP One app that facilitates appointments for legal entry. The announcement will come two days after Mexican voters elected Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president in North America and providing her the ability to continue or reform immigration policies alongside Biden or Trump.
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But as of Sunday, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, a Democrat, was not invited to Tuesday's announcement at the White House, according to the Associated Press.
Newsweek reached out to Salinas' office and the White House via phone and email for comment.
However, mayors from other border communities in Texas, like John Cowen in Brownsville, Ramiro Garza in Edinburg, and Oscar Leeser in El Paso, were invited and expected to be in attendance.
Leeser confirmed to Newsweek that he will be at the White House on Tuesday.
"El Paso is a welcoming community and that makes me very proud, but no community can continue the effort and resources we've expended on this humanitarian crisis endlessly," Leeser said in a statement shared with Newsweek on Monday.
"We are appreciative of the funding we have received from the federal government so that our efforts don't fall on the backs of El Paso taxpayers, but our immigration system is broken and it is critical that Congress work on a bipartisan long-term plan to work with other countries in order to create a more manageable, humane and sustainable immigration system for our country."
Newsweek reached out to Cowen and Garza via email for comment.
Eagle Pass has routinely been a visual reminder of the ongoing immigration debate in the country, accented by barbed wire placed by the Texas National Guard along the U.S.-Mexico border to deter illegal migrants crossing the Rio Grande.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pushed for a more aggressive response to limit illegal immigration as he and other state officials await whether Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4) will be given the green light to provide officers the legal capacity to arrest, detain and deport suspected migrants—which would be entirely new, as only federal authorities currently hold such legal abilities.
In February, Abbott announced that construction of a military base camp on some 80 acres of land had already begun. The camp is said to extend along the Rio Grande and six miles south to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. It will house roughly 1,800 soldiers, with the ability to expand to 2,300.
The same month, Biden visited Brownsville while former President Donald Trump visited Eagle Pass as immigration continues to remain a top 2024 election issue for many prospective voters, notably conservatives.
In January, the city of Eagle Pass issued a statement saying that Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Safety "was taking control of Shelby Park" without any input from Salinas and other city officials.
"That is not a decision that we agreed to," Salinas said at the time, according to KXAS in Fort Worth. "This is not something that we wanted. This is not something that we asked for as a city."
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