Large Migrant Groups Continue Crossing Border into Texas — 24K in Two Weeks

Border Patrol agents in the nation’s busiest sector continue to encounter large groups of migrants illegally crossing from Mexico into South Texas. Nearly 24,000 were apprehended in the last two weeks alone — nearly 28,000 for all of February.

Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents continue to apprehend large groups of migrants illegally crossing the border. Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings tweeted last Friday that nearly 24,000 migrants had been taken into custody in his sector during the past two weeks. Hundreds more were apprehended in the days that followed.

On Saturday morning, agents assigned to the Rio Grande City Station encountered a group of 134 migrants after they illegally crossed the border near Las Lomas, Texas. The agents identified 128 migrants as family units — mostly from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

A few hours later, agents from this same station encountered another large group of migrants near La Grulla, Texas. In this incident, the agents apprehended 113 migrants composed of family units and unaccompanied alien children, officials stated. Included in the 113 migrants were 17 Romanian nationals. The balance came to the U.S. from Central America, officials stated.

“Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation,” officials said in a written statement.

Last week, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents apprehended large groups of mostly family-unit migrants from Central America near La Grulla, La Joya, and Roma. These groups totaled 339 migrants from Central America, Romania, and Cuba, officials stated.

“Despite the inherent dangers of crossing the treacherous Rio Grande, illegal aliens continue to risk their lives to enter the United States,” Border Patrol officials stated. “In recent days, Border Patrol has conducted multiple rescues of individuals, who were set adrift by smugglers. Groups are smuggled on inflatable rafts almost always exceeding the maximum capacity of the rafts, and rarely provided life vests.”