A senior Texas official has asked the Trump administration and federal authorities at the southern border to help the state take back control of two islands in the Rio Grande that Mexican cartels have occupied.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham asked President Donald Trump and the Border Patrol to seize a “cartel-infested” set of islands in the river that divide the United States and Mexico, which technically belong to the U.S. The islands are located near Roma, Texas.
“The identified island is currently being used by cartels for smuggling operations and stash sites for weapons and other illicit activities,” Buckingham wrote in a letter sent on Monday to Trump. “[The Texas Military Department] plans to utilize engineering assets to eliminate the dense brush and vegetation on the island, which provides adequate cover for the cartels to continue their criminal enterprise.”
The main island in question, 20-acre Beaver Island, needs to have federal Border Patrol and Texas National Guard soldiers on patrol to ensure that criminal operators in Mexico can no longer access it. The other island contains 12 acres of land and is located next to Beaver Island.
Until recently, the status of the two islands was unknown. The Texas General Land Office recently completed a survey that concluded the islands belong to the U.S., not Mexico.
Buckingham said she hopes federal and state forces will work together to safeguard the islands going forward but that they must first come up with a plan of how to do so.
“I look forward to U.S. Border Patrol working with TMD to determine the best course of action for collaboration to bring an end to the lawlessness on this section of the border,” Buckingham wrote. “Governor Abbott has led Texas’ efforts with Operation Lone Star for many years, therefore I believe Texas can continue to provide valuable operational insight on how best to secure this land.”
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Under third-term Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), the state has deployed more than 10,000 police officers and soldiers to bolster security at the international border since early 2021, amid a rise in illegal immigration at the onset of the Biden administration.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Trump administration for comment.
