As Texas installs razor wire along New Mexico border, Vasquez calls for more cooperation

“Migrants are entering New Mexico illegally then crossing into Texas. We are stopping it,” Abbott posted Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of guard members placing razor wire along the Rio Grande near Sunland Park.

During a virtual roundtable Friday to discuss issues at the southern border, particularly in Sunland Park, which borders both Texas and Mexico, Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez called for more dialogue between the two states.

“There needs to be better cooperation,” New Mexico’s freshman congressman said when asked about the installation of razor wire between the two states.

“I don’t think putting concertina wire in the Texas section of the Rio Grande and New Mexico is really going to solve anything,” Vasquez added.

Caroline Sweeney, a spokesperson for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the state stands ready to assist to “ensure individuals are treated with compassion and respect while maintaining public safety.

“We encourage Gov. Abbott to turn his attention away from a never-ending stream of political stunts and toward working in earnest for the people of the state he was elected to represent,” she said.

Abbott’s press office and the Texas National Guard did not return messages.

Vasquez, who represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, said Texas and New Mexico need to work together on border issues. “The El Paso Sector [of U.S. Customs and Border Protection] actually monitors and operates across the entire 180 miles of the U.S./Mexico border across my entire district, so from the federal level, there’s coordination between Texas and New Mexico,” he said. “At the state level, we have seen that some of Gov. Abbott’s actions that he has taken have been without consultation, both without federal stakeholders, but in this case, without New Mexico stakeholders.”

Jerry Pacheco, president of the New Mexico Border Industrial Association, told Vasquez during Friday’s virtual roundtable the “migrant crisis” and “the actions of Gov. Greg Abbott” have exhibited the need for a new port of entry.

“We’re bursting at the seams,” he said, adding he had seen the concertina wire for himself Thursday.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It looks like some occupied zone or something, but those two factors have squeezed the sausage, so to speak, and moved more traffic to Santa Teresa.”

Vasquez, who is considered one of the most vulnerable House Democrats seeking reelection in 2024, kicked off the roundtable by saying he was there to listen to local leaders on the ground.

“Your concerns are my concerns,” he said, adding he is “uniquely positioned” to lead the conversation on immigration in Congress.

“Right now, many of our federal agencies are underfunded, understaffed and lack the resources needed to more effectively help control what’s happening at our border and keep our communities safe, and I’m committed to addressing these issues,” he said.