With rifles and razor wire, National Guard and state troopers are blocking migrants at the border in El Paso

Barbed wire separates migrants and the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety officers on the banks of the Rio Grande on Tuesday in El Paso. (Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune)

EL PASO — National Guard members and state troopers formed a line on the banks of the Rio Grande on Tuesday and blocked dozens of migrants who had already crossed the river from surrendering to nearby Border Patrol agents.

About 75 men, women and children stood on a narrow strip of concrete between the river and the guard members, facing coils of razor wire, seven National Guard members holding rifles and two state troopers as a National Guard member holding a bullhorn told them in Spanish that they would not be able to enter the country here and directed them to a port of entry.