Texas protest aimed at border wall

EDINBURG, Texas, July 13 (UPI) -- Nearly 200 people gathered in Edinburg, Texas, to protest a proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexican border, activists say.

Activist Jay Johnson Castro said Saturday's protest by Rio Grande Valley residents was in opposition to the proposal aimed at halting the ongoing wave of illegal immigrants from Mexico, the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News said Sunday.

"Texas is the last stand against the border wall," Castro said.

"It's a shame. It's a criminal shame what has happened. It's a criminal regime that is doing this to this country," he added.

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed that 370 miles of pedestrian fence be completed by the year's end, the newspaper said. That news does not sit well with those in Saturday's protest, who argue such efforts will only cause future immigrants to try riskier border crossings.

"That is the only impact the wall has had -- to cause people to die," No Border Wall activist Scott Nicol told the Express-News.