168 Migrants Apprehended in Single Texas Border Crossing

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a single group of 168 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, and Cuba on Sunday. This sector is currently averaging more than 1,000 migrant apprehensions per day — mostly family units and unaccompanied minors.

Weslaco Station Border Patrol agents patrolling near Hidalgo, Texas, came upon a large group of migrants who had just illegally crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico on Sunday. The agents took custody of the migrants and transported them to the station for evaluation and processing. The group consisted of 168 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, and Cuba, according to information provided by Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol officials.

“The number of apprehensions in the RGV this fiscal year has surpassed the apprehension numbers during the humanitarian crisis experienced in 2014,” sector officials said in a written statement. “The majority of these apprehensions are people turning themselves in to the first Border Patrol Agent they encounter.”

Officials said that so far this year, 90 percent of all apprehensions are from countries other than Mexico. The sector is still experiencing more than 1,000 migrant apprehensions per day.

“With apprehensions in excess of 1,000 per day, the RGV Sector personnel continues to process the illegal aliens as quickly and efficiently as possible,” officials concluded.

In May alone, RGV Sector agents apprehended nearly 50,000 migrants — an average of 1,608 migrants per day. Of those, 38,837 were family units and unaccompanied minors. During the first eight months of the current fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2018, RGV agents apprehended 223,313 migrants including 135,812 family units and 23,944 unaccompanied minors. This accounts for nearly 40 percent of all migrant apprehensions along the entire southwest border with Mexico, according to the May Southwest Border Migration Report. The numbers for June are expected any day.