Amid a border standoff between the Biden administration and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a convoy of trucks and other vehicles are heading to several border cities with the goal of rallying against illegal immigration.
Organizers of the “Take Our Border Back Convoy” recently announced they are setting off from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to travel to several areas along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, California and Texas.
The goal for the rallies scheduled for Saturday is to call attention to “open southern borders,” according to a news release.
Here are four takeaways on the convoy:
‘Take Our Border Back Convoy’ gets underway
The Take Our Border Back Convoy set out Monday for areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, where they will hold three separate rallies on Saturday in Quemado, Texas; Yuma, Arizona; and San Ysidro, California.
Their goal, the group claims, is to “send a message to all city, state, federal politicians and immigration officials,” who they say are enabling illegal immigrants into the U.S.
A Jan. 12 news release put out by the group called on any active and retired law enforcement and military veterans, elected officials, business owners, ranchers, truckers, bikers and other “law abiding, freedom-loving Americans” to join the movement.
Convoy organizers include retired military officer, hosts of radio and TV shows
Some of the organizers behind the “Take Our Border Back Convoy” include Pete Chambers, a retired Army lieutenant colonel; Scotty Saks and Mark Istratoff of Sovereign Radio; and Kim Yeater, host of the “Take Your Power Back Show.”
Chambers and other organizers have said the convoy is intended to send a message to the Biden administration over immigration and border issues.
“What this is going to do is it could bring light to the situation,” Chambers recently said on Tucker Carlson’s X show.
Other organizers have referred to the convoy as “God’s army.”
“God’s army is rising up,” Yeater said on the planning recent convoy call, according to Vice. “We all have been chosen for this time.”
Convoy officials did not return a request for comment from FreightWaves.
Convoy predicted to see 700,000 vehicles participating
U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, recently told Fox Business that as many as 700,000 vehicles could take part in the convoy heading to Arizona, California and Texas.
Self, who has been promoting the “Take Our Border Back Convoy,” said “the people that have organized this are the same people who went from California to Washington, D.C., with the truckers. I understand we are going to be joined by Canadian truckers.”
While organizers and backers of the convoy have estimated that hundreds of thousands of vehicles will take part in the initiative, so far only about a few dozen vehicles have reportedly joined the group as it travels across the country, according to Vice.
Organizers said they have been in contact with local law enforcement along the convoy routes and in the rally locations. The locations for the Arizona and California rallies haven’t been posted yet.
The Texas rally will take place in the municipality of Quemado, about a 25-minute drive from Eagle Pass, at the Children’s Cornerstone Ranch.
Biden administration and Texas Gov. Abbott clash over border
The “Take Our Border Back Convoy” will be arriving in Texas amid a feud between Abbott and the Biden administration over border enforcement measures and who has jurisdictional authority.
Several weeks ago, the Texas National Guard seized control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, and erected a razor wire barrier around it, limiting U.S. Border Patrol’s access to the area.
On Jan. 12, a migrant woman and her two children drowned in the Rio Grande River as they were attempting to cross from Mexico into the U.S. through the area around Shelby Park.
Border Patrol officials said they were prevented from helping the woman and children by agents with Operation Lone Star, the Texas border security initiative, according to NPR.
The Texas Military Department, which oversees Operation Lone Star, said it was not responsible for the deaths because the three migrants had already drowned by the time it received the request for access to the park from Border Patrol.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that the federal government can remove Texas’ razor wire barriers in the area. Texas authorities have said they will not stop putting up razor wire even after the Supreme Court ruling, according to The Hill.
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