Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended more than 3,500 migrants who illegally crossed during a three-day period this week. The flow continues despite efforts by the Mexican government to reverse the trend.
On Sunday, agents patrolling near Rio Grande City, Texas, encountered a group of 100 who illegally crossed from Mexico. The group consisted mainly of unaccompanied children and family units, according to information provided by Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.
Later that day, agents from the Weslaco Station patrolling near Hidalgo, Texas, encountered another large migrant group. This group consisted of “262 illegal aliens who readily turned themselves in,” Border Patrol officials stated.
By the end of a three-day period, the agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended more than 3,500 migrants, the report concluded.
The Rio Grande Valley is regularly the busiest of the nine southwest Border Patrol sectors. In May, agents apprehended 135,812 family unit aliens (FMUA), 23,944 unaccompanied alien children (UAC), and 63,507 single adult aliens (SAA), according to the May Southwest Border Migration Report released earlier this month. These numbers are up from 36,773 FMUAs, 14,822 UACs, and 48,240 SAAs in fiscal year 2018.
Breitbart News reported earlier this month when Mexico announced plans to deploy up to 6,500 National Guard troops to its southern border and an additional 2,500 troops to the U.S. border.
On Monday, the Mexican government announced plans to deploy 15,000 military and National Guard troops to their northern border with the United States.
“In the northern part of the country, we have deployed a total of almost 15,000 troops composed of national guard elements and military units,” Mexican Secretary of Defense Luis Cresencio Sandoval told reporters during a briefing on Monday. The defense secretary said his country has also deployed 2,000 guardsmen to their southern border.
The move comes in response to nearly 400,000 Central American and other migrants who entered the nation in the last three months on journeys to the U.S. Mexico City also discussed plans to deport approximately 2,500 migrants per day.
The deployments follow an agreement on June 7 between Mexico and the Trump Administration. The deal put on hold White House plans to impose a tariff on exports to the U.S.
Over the weekend, AFP reported that national guard troops could be seen stopping migrants from attempting to cross the U.S. border near El Paso.