EAGLE PASS, Texas — After a temporary slowdown Friday, the Biden administration has reopened the International Rail Bridge that connects Eagle Pass, Texas. The move allowed an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 migrants to board trains heading to the U.S.-Mexico border in preparation for crossing into Texas on Saturday.
Breitbart Texas watched as an estimated 1,000 migrants crossed the Rio Grande from Piedras, Negras, Coahuila, and entered the crowded border town of Eagle Pass. Despite the heavy presence of the Texas National Guard on the banks and rivers, more migrants continued to cross.
Overnight, Texas Governor Greg Abbott dispatched a convoy of Texas Department of Defense (TMD) vehicles and soldiers to the border region under Operation Lone Star in response to a large influx of primarily Venezuelan migrants. I ordered. From September 15th to 21st, nearly 13,000 migrants crossed into the Del Rio area from Mexico. Most of these entered the Eagle Pass area of operations.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered additional troops from the Texas National Guard to be sent to Eagle Pass. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
By Saturday morning, lines of TMD vehicles could be seen waiting along the border to prevent migrants from crossing. Additional Texas National Guard troops were deployed to the river in small boats to combat migrant crossings.
Texas National Guard stands on the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
Troopers engaged in a brief standoff on the Rio Grande in an attempt to slow the migrants’ passage.
Texas state troopers try to stop a group of immigrants from crossing the border into Eagle Pass. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
Over the past week, the Eagle Pass area has become one of the busiest intersections along the Southwest border.
Breitbart reported Thursday that the Biden administration’s response to the surge is to close legal border crossings at the Eagle Pass port of entry and the second-busiest international rail crossing in Texas. was. The effort was not to close illegal river crossings, but rather to bring additional resources to more quickly process migrants being released into the United States.
International rail traffic to Eagle Pass resumed on September 23. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
CBP issued a brief statement Wednesday regarding the facility closure:
Starting this afternoon, CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily suspend vehicle processing operations at Bridge 1 and the International Railroad Crossing Bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, to redirect personnel to assist U.S. Border Patrol in detaining migrants. In response to this influx of encounters, we will continue to devote all available resources to processing migrants quickly and safely. We will maximize our impact on those who have no legal basis to remain in the United States. CBP will continue to prioritize border security missions as needed in response to this evolving situation.
Governor Abbott ordered the Texas Emergency Management Agency to send more buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to pick up some of the migrants being released in border towns and transport them to sanctuary cities across the country.
supervised by me @TDEM Deploying more buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso as immigration surges.
Texas border towns don’t have to shoulder the burden of Biden’s open borders policy.
Texas continues to send buses to sanctuary cities to provide relief to overwhelmed border towns. pic.twitter.com/bsFEfCzCEY
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 22, 2023
By mid-morning, Breitbart saw Border Patrol agents detaining scores of migrants as they waited for buses to processing centers under the El Camino International Bridge.
Border Patrol agents detain migrants waiting for backlogged shipments. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
The crossing of migrants continued throughout the morning, with the Texas National Guard escorting them to Border Patrol assembly points.
TMD soldiers escort migrants from border crossings to assembly points. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
Breitbart, Texas, was walking along the border with migrants when he discovered discarded “goody bags” provided by the United Nations to migrants traveling to Mexico. It is unclear what kind of content will be provided.
Migrants abandoned bags provided by the United Nations in Mexico. (Randy Clark/Breitbart, Texas)
During August, nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the border into the Del Rio area. Nearly 29,000 people crossed the border in the first three weeks of September, according to unofficial Border Patrol reports reviewed by Breitbart Texas.
The September numbers in unofficial reports are believed to be low because Border Patrol officials moved many migrants to other sectors before being included in the count. It is believed the numbers will be adjusted to reflect actual insecurity in the Del Rio area when the official Southwest Land Border Encounters Report is released in late October.
The October report is the year-end report for the fiscal year, so it is typically reported later in the month. The report is expected to show more than 2 million migrants are insecure for the second year in a row. In fiscal year 22, agents encountered more than 2.2 million migrants along the Southwest border.
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.
bob price He is an associate editor and senior news contributor on the Breitbart Texas Border Team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team.Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston what is your point? Sunday morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
