ROMA, Texas — During the early morning hours Friday, Border Patrol closed an entire city street to accommodate a non-stop stream of migrants coming across the Rio Grande. Breitbart Texas witnessed hundreds emerge from darkness and walk into the city to surrender.
The migrants, mostly family units and unaccompanied children, walked through the dimly lit streets and were directed to a nearby corner closed to the public. The street was effectively commandeered as a temporary outdoor detention and processing area. As migrants provided the Border Patrol with basic information, they were loaded onto buses.
The migrants were mostly Central American, but a few claimed to be from Cuba.
As the Border Patrol struggles with overcrowding in their facilities, they are forced to use areas under bridges or city streets. Many migrants could be seen arriving without masks in groups of more than 100 at a time. Shortly after midnight on Friday morning, more than 200 were sitting in the temporary holding area.
Border Patrol agents on the scene were patiently attempting to deal with the groups as they arrived but were vastly outnumbered.
In a recent interview with Breitbart Texas, incoming Chief of the Border Patrol Raul Ortiz says the Rio Grande Valley Sector is seeing nearly 3,000 apprehensions a day. Chief Ortiz spoke to the challenges faced by the Border Patrol, other federal and state government agencies and local communities due to the increased influx of migrants entering the country illegally.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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