Illegal Entry by Caravan Migrants into Texas 'Will Not Be Tolerated,' Says DHS

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen said illegal entry into Texas by the most recent Central American migrant caravan “will not be tolerated.” The secretary also called on Congress to stop its “inexcusable failure to fully fund a needed physical barrier.”

“Approximately 2,000 aliens have arrived in northern Mexico as part of a ‘caravan’ seeking to cross the border into Texas,” Secretary Nielsen said in a written statement. “Illegal entry will not be tolerated and we stand ready to prevent it.”

Monday night, Breitbart News’ Editor in Chief Brandon Darby and border journalist Ildefonso Ortiz reported that nearly 2,000 Central American migrants were headed to the Mexican border cities of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. The border region consisting of hundreds of miles of the Rio Grande River has zero miles of physical border barriers.

“The Department of Homeland Security has been working with the Departments of State, Defense, and Justice to ensure all possible resources are available to address this lawless caravan,” Secretary Nielsen explained. “DHS will take all steps to ensure the safety and security of law enforcement personnel on the frontlines.”

During the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019, the Del Rio Sector reported a 330 percent increase in the number of Family Unit Aliens (FMUA) apprehended after illegally crossing the border between ports of entry, according to the December Southwest Border Migration Report published this week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The number of Unaccompanied Alien Children apprehended in the sector also jumped by 52 percent over the first quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Laredo Sector officials reported a relatively modest 72 percent increase in FMUA apprehensions and actually saw a decrease of three percent in the number of unaccompanied minors apprehended during the first quarter.

The expected crossing of this latest migrant caravan could blow those numbers up exponentially.

In Mexico, government officials appeared to be helping the migrants complete their travel to the Texas-Mexico border region by providing 49 buses for transportation, Breitbart News reported. Coahuila Governor Miguel Riquelme scrambled to set up make-shift shelters to temporarily house the migrants as they wait to cross the border and request asylum.

The Central American migrants continue to exploit loopholes in U.S. immigration laws that make it nearly impossible for federal government officials to deter the never-ending stream of migrant caravans.

“Such caravans are the result of Congress’s inexcusable failure to fully fund a needed physical barrier and unwillingness to fix outdated laws that act as an enormous magnet for illegal aliens,” Nielsen firmly stated. “This crisis won’t be solved until we have comprehensive border security. Until then, DHS will do everything in its power – with the assistance of federal and state partners – to hold smugglers and traffickers accountable, enforce our laws, and keep American communities safe.”