Groups of 100 Central American Migrants Apprehended at Texas Border

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended two large groups of Central American migrants who illegally crossed the border. The groups, consisting of nearly 100 family units and unaccompanied minors, surrendered to Border Patrol agents after they illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico in two separate incidents.

Agents assigned to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station came upon a large group of migrants on the morning of November 17. The group assembled after being shuttled across the Rio Grande River by cartel-connected human smugglers. A group of 43 illegal immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador surrendered to the agents, according to information provided by Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials on Monday evening. The agents took the migrants into custody and transported them to the station where they will be processed under sector guidelines.

Thursday evening, Weslaco Station agents encountered another group of 51 migrants who illegally crossed the border. This group also consisted of family units and unaccompanied children, officials said. They traveled to the U.S. through Mexico from the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Officials with the Rio Grande Valley Sector told Breitbart News on Tuesday morning that these migrant groups are not part of the “migrant caravan” who are currently making their way from Central America through Mexico.

President Donald Trump announced on November 1 that asylum requests would be denied to migrants who illegally crossed the border between ports of entry, Breitbart News’ Neil Munro reported. In part, the proclamation stated:

The entry of any alien into the United States across the international boundary between the United States and Mexico is hereby suspended and limited … this proclamation shall not apply to any alien who enters the United States at a port of entry and properly presents for inspection, or to any lawful permanent resident of the United States.

DHS officials told Breitbart News late last week that migrants who were apprehended after illegally crossing the border between ports of entry would be detained for up to 20 days. During this time, the migrants would be under an expedited removal process and would have an immigration hearing before being returned to their country of origin.

However, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Trump administration. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said that people cross the border between ports of entry because “they’re in real danger.” He explained that danger might be in their own country or in Mexico.

“We don’t condone people entering between ports of entry, but Congress has made the decision that if they do, they still need to be allowed to apply for asylum,” Gelernt stated.

On Monday evening, U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar, an Obama appointee from the San Francisco Division of the Northern District of California, issued a temporary restraining order to block the execution of the president’s proclamation.

The president’s proclamation included a clause aimed at sharply curbing Mexican cartel’s ability to traffic children and minors into the U.S.

“Since 2016, cartel-affiliated coyotes have used the nation’s lax asylum laws to deliver more than 110,000 children and youths from Central America to the United States,” Munro reported. “The government-aided business has been hidden by media and by Democrats who portray the expensively smuggled young migrants as ‘Unaccompanied Alien Children.'”

The policy would remove the nearly automatic approval of asylum requests for those children who were illegally crossed from Mexico into the U.S. between ports of entry by the cartels who control most illegal border crossings in Texas and Arizona. The “Withholding of Removal” status would block the delivery of these children to potential employers, illegal alien parents, or other parties, Munro wrote. The policy could have prevented cartels from getting paid and reduce the number of children being subjected to the dangers of being smuggled by the cartels.

In the meantime, thousands of caravan migrants continue to arrive in Tijuana, Mexico, Breitbart News’ Robert Arce reported. More than 3,000 arrived on November 17 to join those already queuing up to cross the border into the U.S.

The massive numbers of migrants arriving in Tijuana sparked fierce protests from Mexican citizens who were offended by the migrants’ disregard for Mexican law. On Sunday, protesters took to the streets chanting calls of “kick them out,” Breitbart Border/Cartel Chronicles editor-in-chief Brandon Darby and border journalist Ildefonso Ortiz reported. Some of the protests turned violent, prompting Mexican police to protect the caravan migrants.