EAGLE PASS, Texas — With just hours left until the largest congressional trip to the border in the small Texas town of Eagle Pass, Customs and Border Protection officials tell Breitbart Texas that the surge in migrants is He said he would see things that pale in comparison. and the extreme overcrowding of facilities experienced in December. A nearby soft-side processing facility designed to hold 1,000 migrants, which normally held nearly 6,000 a month, is currently holding fewer than 500.
The source, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said nearly 1,500 migrants were being released into the small border community of Eagle Pass each day, and the facility was nearly empty. When nongovernmental migrant shelters in the Del Rio Border Patrol District closed during the holidays or reached capacity, migrants were sometimes released directly to city streets to reduce numbers.
This is a comparison between Eagle Pass from just a few weeks ago and yesterday.
The Biden administration has decided to divert a flood of illegal immigrants elsewhere to avoid them appearing on camera. @HouseGOP's visit to Eagle Pass. Don't be fooled, they are still released… pic.twitter.com/XzjPVq5xxB
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 2, 2024
Sources said the temporary detention area where thousands of migrants were being held outdoors near the Camino Real International Bridge II was once full, but recent enforcement actions in Mexico have reduced the number of migrants entering the city. Most are empty because the flow of migrants has been temporarily halted, he said.
“Following Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas’ recent visit with Mexican government officials, buses and planes transporting migrants south of the border have been affected, train service continues in Monterrey, and in December “The unabated flow of migrants is decreasing,” the paper said. Sources told Breitbart Texas.
The official believes the relief is only temporary as large numbers of migrants have not been returned to their home countries. Moving migrants south would only delay their arrival in border cities where they are likely to try to enter the United States in the coming weeks, the official said.
“In September, we experienced the same phenomenon after highly publicized media coverage and visits from Congressional delegations and celebrity CEO Elon Musk. Due to Mexican intervention at the behest of our government, Things slowed down. But after a few months, traffic returned,” the source emphasized.
The Capitol visit, which will include 60 members of Congress, including Speaker Mike Johnson and local Rep. Tony Gonzalez, is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The delegation will be briefed by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Stephen McCraw and other state law enforcement officials before a scheduled press conference on the banks of the Rio Grande.
Mexican authorities are likely to find there is little to see while the lawmakers visit the border, the official said. As Breitbart Texas reported, more than 70,000 migrants landed in the Del Rio area in December. Most entries were centered around outdoor staging sites near Eagle Pass and the Camino Real International Bridge. Due to the record influx of migrants, Customs and Border Protection has suspended cross-border rail service at Eagle Pass, Texas' second busiest rail port of entry.
Railroads have since reopened, but one of the two official ports into Mexico from Eagle Pass remains closed. The port closure has hit local businesses that rely on regular tourists for revenue during the busy holiday season. During the Christmas and New Year holidays, wait times to enter Eagle Pass reached nearly 12 hours at one point.
The influx led Customs and Border Protection to make the decision to close Border Patrol highway checkpoints, a key part of its border security strategy. Highway checkpoints serve as the last line of defense for Border Patrol agents to detect cross-border crimes such as human smuggling and fentanyl smuggling.
As Breitbart Texas reported, the increase in railroad crossings frustrated city leaders who felt the current administration was not adequately responding to requests for assistance. Democratic Mayor Rolando Salinas took to social media earlier this month to express his frustration with the surge of migrants flooding into the city. Salinas described the constant influx of migrants into the city as an immigration disaster, and while visiting the city of Uvalde, Texas, 90 miles from the border area, he did not visit one of Texas' busiest migrant crossing points. Alejandro Mayorkas, head of the Department of Homeland Security, was reprimanded. Eagle Pass during our visit.
randy clark He is a 32-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as Division Chief of Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol stations within the Del Rio, Texas area. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
