Officials in the Texas National Guard took control of a section of the border on Thursday and restricted federal officials from accessing the area, marking the latest showdown between the state government and the White House amid rampant illegal border crossings.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state officials to assume control of Shelby Park, a public park in the city of Eagle Pass adjacent to the Rio Grande, thereby stopping federal agents from entering the nearly three-mile stretch of the southern border. United States Border Patrol agents told media outlets that the Texas National Guard prevented their boats from accessing the area, in which the federal government had been holding illegal immigrants before transportation to additional processing elsewhere.

United States Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar filed a memorandum with the Supreme Court asserting that the actions from Texas mark “an escalation of the state’s measures to block Border Patrol’s ability to patrol or even to surveil the border.” Federal officials have nevertheless opposed efforts from Texas to install razor wire and floating barriers in recent months.

Abbott said in a statement that his administration is “making clear that Texas will be a tough place to cross,” especially as new “caravans of migrants are moving through Mexico.”

The official recently signed a bill criminalizing illegal entry and reentry into Texas, rendering the charge an offense under state law in addition to federal law. The legislation is slated to enter into effect this spring but has been challenged in the court system by progressive groups.

The conflict between Texas and the federal government indeed occurs as the Biden administration presides over record illegal immigration and drug trafficking over the southern border. Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 7.5 million individuals entering the nation illegally since President Joe Biden assumed office three years ago.