What to know about Texas' clash with the Biden administration over Border Patrol access

Texas' refusal to allow Border Patrol agents into a park along the U.S.-Mexico border is a new marker in the state's deepening rift with the Biden administration over immigration.

For nearly a week as of Wednesday, Texas has denied entry to Border Patrol agents around Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, which has become one of the busiest spots on the southern U.S. border for migrants illegally crossing from Mexico.

Tensions intensified during the weekend after Mexican authorities recovered the bodies of three migrants in the Rio Grande across from Eagle Pass. U.S. authorities and Texas officials have provided different accounts and timelines of the response. The Justice Department acknowledged in a legal filing Monday that the migrants died before Border Patrol agents tried gaining access to Shelby Park.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said Texas won't allow Border Patrol agents “on that property anymore." The move has widened a broader dispute with President Joe Biden over illegal crossings and his administration's attempts to stop a rollout of aggressive border measures by Texas, including floating barriers in the Rio Grande and a new law that would allow police to arrest migrants on illegal entry charges.

Here are some things to know about the park and the broader dispute:

WHY IS THE PARK IMPORTANT?

The roughly 50 acres (20 hectares) of parkland in Eagle Pass extends to the banks of the Rio Grande. The Texas border town is in a 115-mile (185-kilometer) swath of North America where a total solar eclipse will be visible in April and has planned a festival at the park for the event.

Last week, Texas officials seized control of the park as part of Abbott's expanding border mission known as Operation Lone Star. The mayor of