‘This is exactly what we need. We need the American people to start speaking out … making a demand on the Biden administration to enforce the laws.’
Participants in a trucker protest dubbed the “Take Our Border Back Convoy” earned praise from Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) on Friday for their efforts to pressure the federal government to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the United States.
“This is exactly what we need. We need the American people to start speaking out. We need them to start rallying, making a demand on the Biden administration to enforce the laws as they swore to do,” Mr. Self told NTD’s “Capitol Report” on Friday.
The East Coast wing of the vehicle protest departed from Virginia Beach on Monday, making stops in Jacksonville, Florida, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, this week before arriving in Dripping Springs, Texas, for a rally on Thursday evening, featuring a performance of the national anthem by rocker Ted Nugent and a speech by former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The East Coast convoy continued on Friday to the Texas border town of Quemado.
A separate West Coast wing of the vehicle protest departed Dripping Springs on Thursday morning, stopping in Las Cruces, New Mexico, about an hour’s drive from the U.S. southern border. That same convoy continued on to Yuma, Arizona on Friday for another stop along the U.S.–Mexico border.
The event organizers have planned additional rallies in Yuma and San Diego, California, on Saturday.
Mr. Self said he’s hopeful these protest events will continue to grow and evolve.
Texas Republicans Encourage Governor’s Standoff With Feds
The “Take Our Border Back Convoy” comes amid an ongoing standoff between the Texas state government and federal border officials over efforts to secure the border.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has for months deployed the Texas National Guard and other state resources to block off sections of Texas’s border with Mexico that sit between the authorized ports of entry, but which have few physical barriers to protect against people sneaking into the country. Mr. Abbott’s efforts have seen Texas officials and Guardsmen deploy various types of barriers, including razor wire, along the Rio Grande to prevent such illicit border crossings, but President Joe Biden’s administration has challenged these efforts in court.
By Ryan Morgan
