Who Are the Truckers?

My VIPS for this week are the hundreds of drivers who took their trucks and vehicles to western Texas as part of the Take Our Border Back Convoy. According to Virginia Allen, Americans gathered over the weekend in Quemado, Texas, to urge elected representatives to secure the borders of America. They came from Tennessee, Maryland, New York, Missouri, Ohio, New Mexico, and many other states to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas National Guard, and other Texans striving to stop the invasion of illegal immigrants into Texas. They gathered on a ranch about 150 miles west of San Antonio. 

The Texas bound convoy, one of four convoys, began its journey Jan. 29 from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The other convoys set out from locations in Texas, New Mexico, and California and ended with rallies in Arizona and New Mexico.  

The Take Our Border Back Convoy organizers stressed on the group’s website that the gatherings were peaceful, and “strongly” condemned any violence.  

“This convoy is meant to bring our country together in love, kindness and in peace,” the convoy’s declaration reads.  

There were concerns over opportunists with negative intentions taking advantage of the situation and causing violence at the rally on Saturday. But the arrival of the convoy Friday night and the rally Saturday remained peaceful and without incident. Police were at the entrance of the event Saturday.  

The first hour of the rally resembled a church service with contemporary worship music, prayer, and exaltations to “love your neighbor” and serve the Lord. The event turned to speeches later in the afternoon from border security advocates, conservative activists, and elected leaders….  

The site of the trucker convoy rally was 30 minutes north of Eagle Pass, Texas, a city that has become a flashpoint between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and President Joe Biden, a Democrat. Texas National Guard has taken control of Shelby Park in Eagle Pass and is no longer allowing Border Patrol to use the park as a staging area for illegal aliens after they cross the Rio Grande. Biden has demanded Texas surrender the park back to federal authorities, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has denied the request.  

Eagle Pass has been a busy crossing point for illegal aliens for years, which led Customs and Border Protection to build a temporary processing center there in 2022. The facility, known as Firefly, was originally intended to process about 1,500 illegal aliens at a time, according to a source The Daily Signal spoke with who used to work inside the facility. But at its height, the center was processing as many as 5,000 illegal aliens a day, the former Firefly worker said.  

Since the start of the Biden administration, more than 8.5 million illegal aliens have been encountered on America’s borders. In December, a record 371,036 illegal aliens were encountered at and between U.S. ports of entry.