Air Force One touches down at McAllen's international airport early this afternoon, as President Donald Trump takes hit pitch for a wall to the border, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The visit has angered many Rio Grande Valley residents, who take exception to the president using their hometown as a backdrop for his case that the border area is in crisis because of illegal immigration.
McAllen resident and activist Scott Nichol says it's a shame that the Commander in Chief is meeting with Customs and Border Patrol officials, but not residents who are losing their land through eminent domain.
"If he is going to push for something like that, he should see the damage that will be done and the people who will be harmed," he says.
Frustrated with a lack of support from Democrats, President Trump claims he can use an "emergency" declaration to get the funding needed to use eminent domain to acquire land for the border wall without any congressional authorization. Under the National Emergencies Act, there is no definition of “emergency.”
One area being targeted by the Trump White House is land south of Donna, Texas, owned by the family of Michaela Gámez. Last year, her relatives got notice from U.S. Attorneys. She says the wall would go straight through a family cemetery, which would have to be relocated. Taking a part of their family's history and removing it to build a wall is devastating for her and her family.
"That's my family's history. I can’t wait to take my kids there, and hear the stories from the elders in my family about how they helped preserve the Texas culture and how they fought for Texas to become independent. That cemetery represents who I am who my family is."
It's expected that, today, President Trump will be given a tour of one port of entry, and Anzalduas Park in Mission, TX, which has been a hot-spot for migrants to cross the border and then turn themselves in to Border Patrol.
It will be closed for part of the day today.
IMAGE: GETTY