253 Migrants Apprehended in One Hour Along Texas Border with Mexico

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended two large groups of migrants during a one-hour period earlier this week near Mission, Texas. Agents also apprehended 56 others in a stash house and a failed human smuggling attempt.

Late Thursday night, McAllen Station Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of 166 migrants who surrendered to them after illegally crossing the border from Mexico just south of Mission. The group consisted of family unit aliens and unaccompanied alien children, according to information obtained from Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials.

While screening this group of migrants, another group of 87 migrants approached the agents and surrendered. This group also consisted of families and unaccompanied minors, officials stated.

Prior to this, Border Patrol agents in this area had only been finding groups of 50 or less migrants, MyRGVNews reported. Rapid expulsions of the migrants under the Title 42 coronavirus protection protocol put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deterred larger groups from attempting the dangerous and seemingly pointless border crossings. That program, along with other Trump administration programs effectively ended “Catch and Release” and reduces illegally border crossings by up to 85 percent, officials previously told Breitbart Texas.

Changes in policy by the Biden administration that ended the Migrant Protection Protocols and an apparent change in Mexican policies regarding the Title 42 expulsions appear to have exacerbated the situation in the Rio Grande Valley area.

On Wednesday, Border Patrol agents began releasing migrants families into the communities of McAllen and Brownsville, Texas. The migrants are being released into these border towns without being tested for COVID-19, local officials stated.

In response, Texas Governor Greg Abbott authorized state health officials to send 10,000 COVID-19 test kits to the City of McAllen, Breitbart Texas reported.

“(Border Patrol agents) were just dropping them off at the bus station without testing them. Obviously, that’s very alarming to all of us in that they’re coming from Central America and through Mexico and to be released into the United States without being tested for COVID is really unconscionable,” Texas State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials responded that Border Patrol agents have never been responsible for testing migrants for COVID-19.

A statement from CBP explains:

CBP uses a combination of onsite contract medical personnel and referrals to local health systems to provide medical support for persons in custody who require medical attention. CBP personnel conduct initial inspections for symptoms or risk factors associated with COVID-19 and consult with onsite medical personnel, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or local health systems as appropriate. Onsite medical personnel can provide basic assessment and supportive treatment, but suspected COVID-19 cases are referred to local health systems for appropriate testing, diagnosis, and treatment.

On Friday morning, agents patrolling near Linn, Texas, attempted to stop a Ford F150. The driver refused to yield. While the agents attempted to radio a description of the vehicle to local police for assistance, the driver drove off the roadway and into a rancher’s fence. The driver and the smuggled migrants bailed out of the truck, officials stated.

A search of the area led to the apprehension of “ten subjects who were identified as being illegally present in the United States,” the statement continues. Agents did not find the driver.

One day earlier, the Roma, Texas, Police Department attempted to stop a Chevrolet Malibu spotted driving away from a suspected human smuggling stash house. The officer chased the vehicle until the occupants baled out. The responding officers and agents apprehended the driver and migrants. An interview led to a raid on the suspected stash house where three more migrants were found.

Thirty-eight more migrants were found in another human smuggling stash house in Starr County, Texas, on Wednesday.

Between Wednesday and Friday, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents apprehended more than 300 migrants in these incidents alone.