MISSION, Texas ( Border Report ) — A small fishing boat slowly moved from the waters of the Rio Grande into the boat ramp of an RV park on Friday, passing a new sign declaring this area "restricted" and part of a new military zone.
But the driver never saw it.
In fact, several boaters and fishermen with whom Border Report spoke on Friday had no idea that the small sign, fixed in concrete on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande, was there to warn people about the restricted area.
The red and white sign with black lettering put up Wednesday night reads: "Warning: Restricted area. This Department of Defense property has been declared a restricted area by authority of the commander. ... Unauthorized entry is prohibited. ... All persons and vehicles entering herein may be detained and searched. Photographing or making notes, drawings, maps or graphic representations of the area or its activities are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the commander. Any such material found in the possession of unauthorized persons will be confiscated."
The signs are in English and Spanish and face the river, though they are not very visible to anyone on a boat who is traveling fast or not specifically looking for it. So, it's not unlikely that someone trying to cross the border illegally would also miss it.
Several boaters told Border Report they couldn't read the sign from the water. They also said they planned to continue boating and fishing on the Rio Grande, overlooking the Mexican shore.
Last month, the Defense Department announced 250 miles of lands once owned by the International Boundary and Water Commission in Hidalgo and Cameron counties would now be part of Joint Base San Antonio.
The Air Force said the new zone is a National Defense Area "designed to support the Department of Defense's ongoing mission to secure the southern border in coordination with inter-agency and partner stakeholders."
It's unclear how wide the military buffer zone is in this part of the border. The two NDAs previously established in the El Paso area in Far West Texas and along New Mexico's entire border with Mexico earlier this year are 60 feet wide, but federal officials have told Border Report that they are as wide as a mile in some undisclosed locations.
Officials there have put up 2,000 of these same signs in recent months.
Migrants who enter the country illegally and onto an NDA can face charges of trespassing on military property in addition to illegal entry.
Borderwide, it's unclear what access locals will have to these areas in the future. On Friday, there were no visible signs warning people that they are entering a restricted area from the U.S. side.
On Friday, a giant brown cow lumbered from farmlands in Reynosa, Mexico, to drink water from the Rio Grande. It appeared to look in the direction of the sign on Friday morning — near the boat ramp at Chimney RV Park — but then returned to its grazing.
A Border Patrol official who was at the RV Park told Border Report that he was also looking for the new sign.
And another law enforcement officer said three or four signs were put up Wednesday night, and more are to come.
The one at the Chimney RV Park boat ramp faces the Rio Grande and is not visible from the shoreline. But a park employee said residents have expressed concerns about it.
Earlier this month, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said he was not informed nor consulted about the military zone until after it was announced.
When asked what that means for residents trying to access the river and/or their borderland properties, local officials told Border Report that they are still trying to figure it out and are reaching out to the military for more guidance.
All of them, however, agree that the signs are too small.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.
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