No Border Wall Coalition

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨

We are happy to have partnered with our neighbors in Eagle Pass to protect and preserve the dignity of their riverfrontage! Yesterday night, after listening to dozens of people denounce Abbott’s disregard for border communities, the Eagle Pass City Council voted unanimously to take back control of Shelby Park - the city’s largest downtown park!

Tuesday began with a trip on the Rio Grande filled with numerous national and state media outlets, and elected state officials, led by Jessie F. Fuentes, Eagle Pass native and owner of Epi Canoe & Kayak, who has sued Abbott for economic damage to his business with the buoy installation. Nearly 30 kayaks and canoes entered the river at Shelby Park to view miles of extensive destruction along the riverbank and pristine river islands due to bulldozers, shipping containers, and concertina wire - all in stark contrast to the joggers, carefully landscaped vegetation, and art-filled park across the river in the sister city of Piedras Negras.

Eagle Pass Border Coalition

EAGLE PASS, TX: Friday will go down in history for the South Texas border town of Eagle Pass.

Within a span of five hours, Gov. Greg Abbott was sued for actions without legal authority in the city of 28,000 people, while hundreds of buoys began to arrive in 18-wheelers at a downtown river park. Prior to their arrival, dozens of community organizers held a press conference in response to the recent takeover of Shelby Park by state troopers from Texas and Florida.

Shortly after the press conference, the large buoys began to arrive. Then, within two hours of their arrival, Eagle Pass resident and kayaking outfitter Jessie F. Fuentes filed suit against Gov. Greg Abbott in Travis County, seeking a permanent injunction to stop the installation of the buoys.

Eagle Pass residents angrily pointed out how politicians from Austin and Washington have increasingly militarized their once popular park thru the construction of a 14-foot steel border fence, the line-up of nearly 100 boxcars against the river’s edge that block all views and access to the river, and the placement of concertina wire on top of the boxcars and all along the shoreline of the park and its island.

The Eagle Pass Border Coalition was joined by supporters from the No Border Wall Laredo Coalition who drove in from Laredo and Zapata to support their efforts.

Eagle Pass residents demand halt to installation of destructive buoy system in the Rio Grande “The buoys are yet another attempt at the militarization of our border that negatively impacts the river”

This morning, the Eagle Pass Border Coalition is hosting a press conference at downtown Shelby Park, alongside the No Border Wall Coalition, to reject Texas Gov. Abbott's plans to install a massive buoy system in the Rio Grande.

In the past three weeks, Eagle Pass residents no longer have access to a public boat ramp from Shelby Park, and crews have bulldozed a pristine river island next to the park to serve as a staging ground for Abbott’s buoy installation plans.

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS RESTORED!
Last week the City of Laredo WON. The No Border Wall Coalition WON. Secretary Mayorkas has rescinded the Waivers of Federal Laws in the Laredo Sector. Laredo remains the largest metro area along the Southern border with N0 BORDER WALL, thanks to the Coalition and our allies. Thank you to Carlos Evaristo Flores for leading the lawsuit against the Trump Administration and its disastrous and nonsensical border wall policy that stripped us of our Constitutional rights as Americans, threatened our health and well-being, and ignored the safety we have enjoyed here in Laredo since our inception. Check out the press release at the No Border Wall Coalition which since 2019 has mobilized, organized, and called us to action to prevent a useless Border Wall from cutting us off from the life-giving waters of the Rio Grande. RGISC Rio Grande International Study Center

One for the books!! May all border communities have the courage to challenge and overturn these waivers of federal law, that disenfranchise us and cut off our access to legal protections provided to all other Americans in this country.

MEDIA ADVISORY - Historic Announcement_DHS Cancels Waivers of Law FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Carlos Evaristo Flores | [email protected] **BREAKING NEWS** DHS in Full Retreat in Zapata and Webb An epic David vs. Goliath h Federal government cancels waivers of law for borders wall construction for the first time on the South...

TY to the BorderReport for closely tracking and following this story for us. This was a huge victory for our community of Zapata, Webb and Laredo!!

Environmentalists claim ‘huge victory’ in South Texas border wall fight Environmentalists are praising the Biden administration’s announcement that it is rescinding some environmental waivers that had been issued during the Trump administration to quick-start bor…

📢 Join us on June 21 at 6PM CT for a powerful webinar exploring eminent domain, a tool of oppression, that grants governments the power to seize land for the so-called "greater good.”

From the US to Occupied Palestine, we'll delve into the complexities of the fight against eminent domain with representatives from the Great Plains Action Society ( ), Rio Grande International Study Center ( ), photographer Aisha Mershani ( ), and moderated by Emerald Cities Collaborative ( ). Don't miss out on this critical conversation about land rights and who they truly belong to. See you there!

Link in Bio of 👈

❗️❗️❗️LAREDO, WE NEED YOU❗️❗️❗️

Tonight, City Council is set to vote on agenda item #48, in which the City of Laredo is being asked to turn over 17 miles of Rio Grande vega lands in the heart of Laredo to the U.S. Border Patrol through a licensing agreement.

Please stand with us tonight at City Council chambers as we ask our city leaders to vote 🚫NO🚫 on agenda item #48 if the agreement does not meet the following requirements:

•Bring transparency to this land deal.
•Without knowing and reviewing a complete scope, this project will hamper the City from future planning and development along the river.
•Shared use: No state or federal authority should have the right to exclude members of the Laredo public from our lands,or else vote no. Council should eliminate section #11 of the draft Licensing Agreement.
•Environmental Impact: request one, and if it shows damage to the ecosystems that the river supports, cancel the project.
•No border wall: The Agreement should state that this does not give permission for the construction of a border wall.
•Our Decision: The City of Laredo has final say over the use of its lands.

Where: City Council Chambers, 1110 Houston St
When: TODAY, May 15 at 5:00 pm

We will be handing out free NBWC t-shirts to those who can join us during the city council meeting (while supplies last).

Sign up for public comments HERE: https://laredotexasgov.docuware.cloud/DocuWare/Forms/witness-registration-v2-100721?orgID=3761eca6-e410-417f-bf9d-989fc051244e

Laredo, WE decide OUR future! ✊

‼️Action Needed‼️
This morning the Senate Committee on Border Security will consider pushing Senate Bill 1481 through their committee and onto the Senate Floor.

This bill would grant the Texas Facilities Commission the ability to steal our riverfront land for the construction of a border wall!

We need to make our voices heard and stop this bill in its tracks. Contact your legislators now and demand they protect our property rights!

“En lugar de escucharnos, el Estado ha trabajado a nuestro alrededor, nos ha ignorado y ahora está perdiendo el dinero de los contribuyentes de Texas para un proyecto puramente político. Sabemos la verdad: sienten que nos tratan de esta manera no por dónde estamos, sino por quiénes somos. Somos una comunidad 96% latina, en su mayoría de clase trabajadora”.

Miembros de la Coalición Contra el Muró Fronterizo hablaron con sobre la situación precaria en las comunidades de Rio Bravo y El Cenizo.

Actualmente, el estado de Tejas ha obtenido 5 MILLAS para construir un muro fronterizo a la orilla del Rio Grande, nuestra única fuente de agua.

Si usted vive en estas comunidades y necesita ayuda legal puede llamar al (956) 724-5895 y lo conectaremos con nuestra linea de abogados que ofrecen sus servicios gratuitamente para estos casos.



Puede leer la nota completa en https://elmanana.com.mx/laredo-texas/2023/3/29/venden-parte-de-rancho-al-norte-de-laredo-contemplan-construccion-de-muro-fronterizo-96111.html

Join us in uplifting the Carizzo Comecrudo Tribe as they walk from the Permian Basin to the Rio Grande valley to fight against the destruction of their sacred land!

The will follow a path through the Tribe’s lands- honoring sacred sites, bringing awareness to the destruction of those lands from extractive industries, reaching out to affected communities, and sharing Tribal history and stories with youth from their Elders.

Wednesday’s community forum will be held at Casa Ortiz and will highlight their fight against the border wall, SpaceX, and liquefied natural gas facilities proposed for their sacred sites.

Artwork by: .m.a

“They sure keep it all in the family, don’t they?”

Tricia Cortez, member of No Border Wall Coalition, spoke to about Gov. Abbott’s 5-mile land acquisition to build a border wall in northern Webb County. The land owner resides in Houston, Texas and is a generous donor to Gov. Abbott’s campaigns.

Read the full article here: https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-strikes-deal-to-build-abbotts-border-wall-on-big-donors-ranch/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Rio Bravo Residents Demand a Voice and Seat at TX Gov. Abbott’s Border Security Table

RIO BRAVO, TX -- At an emergency townhall Monday evening, Rio Bravo residents in southern Webb County asked why they have been ignored by Austin and demanded a seat at Gov. Abbott’s table in finding real and effective solutions to security challenges at the border.

Residents were stunned to learn that Gov. Abbott has awarded a whopping $361 million in contracts since January 4 to destroy 16 river miles near their homes in Webb and Zapata counties, at a cost of nearly $23 million per mile of proposed border wall along the Rio Grande, a highly distressed river system that serves as the border’s only source of drinking water.

Like their neighbors in nearly El Cenizo (pop. 3,160), Rio Bravo residents expressed their firm opposition to the construction of a steel border wall ih their community, and discussed the need for better solutions that are less costly, and less destructive to their property values. They specifically cited: demolishing abandoned homes, funding a modern and well-staffed police force for both South Texas communities, and using proven technology to better monitor criminal activity.

Interim Mayor Amanda Aguero opened the event and welcomed attendees, explaining why the City of Rio Bravo (pop. 4,350) doesn’t support a steel border wall cutting through the City and severing access to the city’s river park. The mayor organized the event in collaboration with members of the No Border Wall Coalition. She urged residents to not sign any documents from the state related to right of way easements or access onto their land, until they have contacted an attorney from the Coalition.

To date, no plans have been shared with the public, the media, local mayors, congressional representatives, or those property owners who would be directly impacted, despite private contractors already moving forward with aspects of the project.

Read the full press release on our website noborderwallcoalition.com

Photo courtesy: Jesse G. Herrera, poet

🚨 Rio Bravo town hall happening TODAY at 6:30 pm!//
¡Junta sobre el muro fronterizo en Rio Bravo es HOY a las 6:30 pm! 🚨

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

El Cenizo Mayor and Local Residents Push Back Against Gov. Abbott’s Border Wall at Emergency Town Hall

LAREDO, TX -- Dozens of El Cenizo residents in southern Webb County attended an emergency town hall event Wednesday night expressing outrage over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to fast-track the construction of a 30-foot steel border wall straight through their community at a cost of $361 million for 16 river miles.

The message for residents was clear. If approached by private contractors from companies such as Universal Field Services wanting to get an easement to your property: “Do not sign your land away!” Presenters highlighted the damage to property values if the wall gets built on or near their land.

Mayor Carina Hernandez, who was accompanied by the city’s two elected commissioners - Daisy Perez and Juany Valdez - opened the event and explained why the City opposes this destructive project. El Cenizo, like Rio Bravo and Laredo, are riverfront cities where the river has formed the cultural identity and social backbone of these South Texas border communities for generations.

A second emergency town hall will be held in Rio Bravo - a nearby incorporated city - on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023 at 6:30 pm at Rio Bravo City Hall, 1701 Centeno Lane, 78046.

Photo courtesy: Francisco Mendoza and Jesse G. Herrera, poet

Read the full press release HERE: https://noborderwallcoalition.com/2023/02/17/el-cenizo-mayor-and-local-residents-push-back-against-gov-abbotts-border-wall-at-emergency-town-hall/

El Cenizo Emergency Border Wall Town Hall- February 15, 2023

El Cenizo Town Hall is happening TODAY at 6:30 pm!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Border Officials & Local Residents Host Emergency Town Halls, Reject Gov. Abbott Effort to Resurrect “Failed Trump Wall”

LAREDO, TX -- In response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s move to award a whopping $361 million to destroy 16 river miles in Webb and Zapata counties and erect a 30 foot steel wall that has no real security value - at a cost of $22.6 million per mile along the river - border residents are hosting emergency town hall events to alert local residents to the harm it presents to their communities.

“We’ve been through this before with the federal government, where we defeated their plans to destroy 71 river miles in our communities, which would have cost taxpayers more than $1 billion,” said El Cenizo Mayor Carina Hernandez. “Trump’s wall failed. It didn’t work, and won’t be completed. It did succeed at creating photo ops and raising political campaign funds. Rather than provide real solutions, the governor is trying to repeat that formula, knowing that walls don’t work.”

The state is targeting two communities in southern Webb County - Rio Bravo and El Cenizo. The town halls - set for Feb. 15 and Feb. 20 - are organized by El Cenizo Mayor Carina Hernandez, Rio Bravo Interim Mayor Amanda Aguero, Webb County Commissioner Jesse Gonzalez and members of the No Border Wall Laredo Coalition.

Read the full press release HERE: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1pWIxsGZJVy7v0Br96YZ8JoPxaMry8d55/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

Since January 4, 2023, Gov. Abbott and the state of Texas have approved $361 million to build a destructive and ineffective border wall. They are targeting Webb and Zapata counties, specifically the hardworking communities of Rio Bravo and El Cenizo.

If you have been approached by Fisher Sand & Gravel, the State of Texas, or a private company (i.e. Universal Field Services) to sign an easement granting access for the Border Wall on your property in exchange for money, DO NOT SIGN.

First, learn the truth.

If you sign, you will lose access to the land forever, and the value of your property will decrease significantly. Join our No Border Wall Coalition and get free legal advice and protect your family and your community.

Stay tuned for more updates as this issue develops.



***

Desde el 4 de enero de 2023, el gobernador Abbott y el estado de Texas han aprobado $361 millones para construir un muro fronterizo destructivo e ineficaz. Enfocandose en los condados de Webb y Zapata, específicamente a las comunidades trabajadoras de Rio Bravo y El Cenizo.

Si Fisher Sand & Gravel, el estado de Texas o una empresa privada (por ejemplo, Universal Field Services) se le han acercado para que firme una autorización que otorga acceso al muro fronterizo en su propiedad a cambio de dinero, NO FIRME.

Primero, aprenda la verdad.

Si firma, perderá el acceso a la tierra para siempre y el valor de su propiedad disminuirá significativamente. Únase a nuestra Coalición No Al Muro y obtenga asesoramiento legal gratuito y proteja a su familia y su comunidad.

Estén atentos para más actualizaciones.

🚨 PLEASE SHARE!!! 🚨

Clean Air Laredo Coalition is looking for volunteers to help with door-to-door canvassing!

On September 10 & 11, we will be going door-to-door posting flyers meant to inform our community and persuade them to attend the EPA community meeting this September 15th 2022 at the TAMIU Fine and Performing Arts Recital Hall.

Volunteers will receive 5 hours of community service for every shift 🤝

You can sign up to volunteer here: https://rgisc.kindful.com/register/canvassing-clean-air-laredo-2022

Of course it’s the contractors.
Another perverse impact of the Wall.

EXCLUSIVE: Border-barrier crews taking water from South Texas canals despite drought restrictions Despite water restrictions imposed on residents in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas due to an ongoing drought, water is being taken from area canals beside the river for use on border barrier c…

Volunteers and community members came together in celebration for a July 23-24 weekend event to create a community mural along the Rio Grande at the location of the proposed Binational River Conservation Corridor in Laredo, TX. 💧

This marked the one-year anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cancelation of border wall contracts for the Laredo Sector.

This community effort also calls on the Biden Administration to direct funds previously allocated for the border wall to support construction of the Binational River Conservation Corridor project that would invest in critical water infrastructure for the Rio Grande – Laredo’s ONLY source of drinking water.

This anniversary marks the latest in the years-long fight to stop the building of a border wall in Webb and Zapata counties as planned by the Trump Administration.

To see the full list of pictures, video, and read the official press release visit: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TIiZ86KzoItCYe_KRVsXLueH4dOLE7fw

📸: Francisco Mendoza

We love our River!

BREAKING NEWS:
INSURRECTIONIST LEADER WHO SPOKE AT GOP EVENT IN LAREDO, TX FORMALLY CHARGED BY U.S. PROSECUTORS FOR “SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY”

LAREDO, TEXAS - A prominent figure in the January 6 Insurrection that shocked the nation has a Laredo, Texas connection. Two months after the criminal assault on the nation’s capital, Elmer Stewart Rhodes was invited to speak at a local GOP event in Laredo last year held at the US border. A Facebook video shows Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers militias, speaking at a March 26 Texas Republican Party “Secure Borders” rally in Laredo on the same stage as prominent GOP officials.

Today’s New York Times article mentions the militia leader’s presence at the rally in Laredo: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/13/us/politics/oath-keepers-stewart-rhodes.html

In late March, Mr. Rhodes himself publicly acknowledged that the F.B.I. was after him, declaring during a fiery speech on the Texas border that the Justice Department had undertaken a “persecution campaign” against his group. “I may go to jail soon, not for anything I actually did, but for made-up crimes,” he said.
The militia leader shared the same stage with Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West and GOP Congressional candidate Sandra Whitten.The event in Laredo was promoted by the Webb County Republican Party. Sponsorship for the Texas Republican Party weekend conference was provided in part by IBC Bank with a special social event held at the Killam Ranch. Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz welcomed the weekend conference.

At the time of the Laredo rally, local residents with the No Border Wall Coalition mounted a protest of the event, pointing out the contradiction of inviting insurrectionists to the border.
“You can’t come to the border saying you are trying to protect America when you just organized an attack on America,” said Laredo Resident Valentin Ruiz, a U.S. Army Veteran.

Following the event, the Laredo City Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the weekend event’s central theme that described Laredo as a dangerous and unsafe “battleground” being invaded in a new “border crisis.”

“Extremists have been coming in from other parts of the country telling us that we are being invaded down here on the border? Well, they’re right, only they are the ones who are invading.” said Maxine Rebeles, a Laredo resident and U.S. Navy veteran.

The Oath Keepers, along with the Proud Boys, have emerged as the most prominent far-right extremists to have taken part in the assault on the Capitol. Not only did Rhodes’ followers enter the Capitol Building on January 6 wearing military tactical gear, but their statements reveal they had organized an armed “quick reaction force” at a nearby hotel ready to rush in.

In contradiction to Rhodes’ public claims, his own followers have said they did in fact intend to breach the building with the goal of obstructing the final certification of the Electoral College vote. In essence, this was an effort to disrupt a constitutionally-mandated process of finalizing an election and effectively cancel the votes of tens of millions of Americans.

Rhodes is currently under federal investigation for his role in coordinating deadly attacks on the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021. To date, 10 members of the organization have been indicted by federal authorities for their involvement. Rhodes has stated himself: “You can call it an insurrection or you can call it a war.”

The Department of Homeland Security has named domestic terrorism as one of our greatest national security threats, with “opposition to immigration” being a key belief driving attackers. Texas Department of Public Safety reports Domestic Terrorism is increasing along the Southern US border. Congressional Rep. Bennie Thompson, Chairman of House Homeland Security Committee, highlighted the hypocrisy of these terrorists: “A lot of them mask themselves under some guise of being patriots.” Washington Post, Feb 24, 2021,

Border Town Links Fight Against Trump’s Wall to the Black Lives Matter Movement

truthout.org Residents say the half-billion being poured into the wall should instead be used to address real crises on the border.