Along the US-Mexico border, the latest “shocking threat” is not a cartel convoy or a new tunnel, but a tiny parasitic fly that can quietly devastate herds and wildlife. As Texas officials scramble to contain the New World screwworm and federal agencies pivot resources to the front line, the episode exposes how biological risks at the border can ripple through food supplies, rural economies, and public safety in ways that are every bit as serious as more familiar security concerns.
What is unfolding now is a layered border story: a livestock parasite moving north through Mexico, a state-level disaster declaration, a federal air campaign involving sterile insects, and a broader security environment that already includes wildlife smuggling, cartel violence, and surging threats against officers. Taken together, these developments show why authorities say the situation “poses significant risks” that extend far beyond a single state line.
The parasite creeping toward Texas ranch country
The New World screwworm is a flesh-eating fly whose larvae burrow into warm-blooded animals, and its approach toward the United States has triggered urgent alarms in Texas. In AUSTIN, Texas, Gov Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration on a Thursday after New World screwworm infestations were detected in Mexico and began moving closer to the border, a step aimed at protecting livestock and wildlife before the parasite can gain a foothold in the state’s herds. That declaration, detailed in state coverage of the AUSTIN, Texas announcement, underscores how seriously officials view the threat to cattle, deer, and other animals that underpin rural economies.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s move has been echoed across multiple platforms, with RFD and NEWS reports from AUSTIN, TEXAS describing how Texas Governor Greg Abbott framed the New World screwworm as a looming cross-border danger that requires rapid coordination with federal partners and neighboring Mexico. In those accounts, the disaster declaration is not just symbolic, it unlocks emergency tools and funding to support surveillance, treatment, and a New World Screwworm Response Team that can move quickly if cases appear on the US side of the line, a response that RFD NEWS describes as a preemptive shield for ranchers.
Texas declares a disaster as economic stakes come into focus
State leaders have not minced words about what is at risk if the parasite crosses into Texas at scale. Social media posts amplified by veterinary groups note that Texas has declared a state of disaster amid concerns that New World screwworm, recently detected in northern Mexico, could cross into US herds, a warning that frames the issue as both an animal welfare crisis and a looming hit to producers’ bottom lines. That message, shared in an Instagram update that highlights Texas, New World, and Mexico in the same breath, captures how quickly a border health problem can become a statewide emergency for ranchers and veterinarians, as seen in the Texas has declared alert.
On farm-focused airwaves, Feb commentary from Mike Pearson has driven home the point that Texas has declared a disaster as the New World Screwworm threat grows, with detailed explanations of how larvae can infest wounds, weaken animals, and force producers into costly treatment and culling decisions. In that coverage, Mike Pearson describes how infestations in Mexico have already required aggressive responses and warns that if the parasite establishes itself north of the Rio Grande, the economic damage to ranchers and wildlife managers could be severe, a concern laid out in Mike Pearson’s breakdown of how animals can be killed by New World Screwworm larvae.
USDA’s sterile fly offensive at the border
Federal agriculture officials are responding with a strategy that sounds counterintuitive at first glance, releasing more flies to fight the flies. The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is shifting sterile fly dispersal efforts to defend the US border, an operation that involves dropping sterilized screwworm flies so they mate with wild populations and gradually collapse the parasite’s numbers. In a Washington briefing, USDA leaders described how this long standing technique is being refocused along the frontier with the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico, a pivot detailed in the Washington announcement that highlights the role of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Independent reporting has fleshed out how this will work on the ground, with Feb coverage By Tom Polansek describing a view of a ground release container with screwworm larvae and explaining that USDA will release flies near the US-Mexico border to fight the screwworm pest before it can spread into domestic herds. That account notes that the sterile fly program is being accelerated in response to detections in northern Mexico and that the goal is to create a buffer zone of nonviable insects along the frontier, a tactic that has been used successfully in past eradication campaigns and is now being redeployed as the parasite inches closer, as outlined By Tom Polansek.
Ranching groups have cautiously welcomed the move, noting that While existing protocols and surveillance systems are demonstrating effectiveness and collaboration with Mexican counterparts, the new push underscores how much is at stake for producers, wildlife populations and landowners if the parasite slips through. In statements praising USDA’s preventative screwworm efforts in Texas, cattle organizations have stressed that the cross border nature of the threat demands constant monitoring and rapid response, a point emphasized in coverage that highlights how While Mexican authorities are also engaged, US producers remain on edge as they watch the front line shift, as reflected in the While existing assessment of current safeguards.
Border security already stretched by crime and smuggling
The biological threat is landing on a border that is already under intense pressure from criminal networks and human smuggling. A newly obtained memo from the Rio Grande Valley Sector Operations Center has warned Border Patrol agents of a potential cross border attack by Mexican cartels, advising them to wear body armor and travel in groups as they patrol some of the same corridors now being monitored for screwworm incursions. That warning, circulated through a video briefing that cites the Rio Grande Valley Sector Operations Center and Border Patrol by name, illustrates how frontline personnel are being asked to juggle both traditional security risks and emerging biological hazards, as described in the Rio Grande Valley memo.
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security is reporting a surge in serious criminal cases tied to the border. In Feb updates, DHS has highlighted that it Reaches More than 4,000 Arrests of Illegal Aliens Including Murderers, Sex Offenders, Gang Members, and Terroris suspects, a figure that underscores how often violent offenders are intercepted at or near crossing points. Additional News from February 2026 notes that DHS reports a surge in threats against ICE officers amid rising tensions, with Graves detailing how ICE personnel are facing more direct intimidation even as they process cases that include cartel members identified as terror suspects, as laid out in the News summary by Graves.
Wildlife trafficking and a broader cross-border security web
The screwworm is not the only nonhuman threat moving through the region, and recent enforcement actions show how wildlife trafficking can intersect with disease and economic risk. Earlier this week, exotic parrots were discovered as part of a smuggling attempt at the border, a case that conservation advocates warned “Could lead to serious economic impacts” if such trade spreads avian diseases or undermines legal markets. Coverage of that seizure, which credits Beth Newhart February and notes that Exotic parrots were discovered along the frontier, frames the incident as a reminder that illegal wildlife shipments can carry pathogens and invasive species into US ecosystems, a concern highlighted in the Exotic parrots report.
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