DEL RIO, Texas — A major movement of migrants from the makeshift camp located under the Del Rio, Texas International Bridge is underway, according to a law enforcement source within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A school bus marked “San Felipe-Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District” entered the camp to assist the Border Patrol in moving the migrants. It is unknown if the bus is part of the school district’s active fleet used to transport students.
Border Patrol officials moved more than 400 mostly Haitian migrants from Del Rio to El Paso for processing. An additional 350 are being moved to Eagle Pass, Texas, for the same purpose. In addition to numerous unmarked charter buses, officials utilized at least one bus belonging to the local Del Rio school district fleet.
The movement of migrants from the camp is expected to continue through the night. The source told Breitbart Texas the Laredo Border Patrol Sector is also sending 13 vans and one bus to assist with the transport of migrants from the camp. The population of migrants in the camp late Friday night sits at more than 12,000. The situation at the camp and the continuous flow of migrants caused the Border Patrol to shut down highway checkpoint operations in the Del Rio and Laredo Border Patrol Sectors.
Two international ports of entry in Del Rio have also been temporarily shut down preventing any cross-border pedestrian and vehicle traffic from transiting between Ciudad Acuna and Del Rio. Despite the transfer of nearly 800 migrants from the camp on Friday, the population still stands in excess of 12,000 due to the continuous flow of mostly Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande.
The growing population of the camp has law enforcement officials concerned about the potential for unrest due to rising tensions in the camp. Elected officials from the community have expressed similar concerns and called the situation untenable for the small community of Del Rio.
At the camp, thousands of migrants move freely between the camp under the bridge and Ciudad Acuna in Mexico to bring food, supplies, and cardboard to build shelters at the camp. The Border Patrol and other state and local law enforcement officials providing security for the camp are vastly outnumbered. Local Border Patrol processing facilities are experiencing overcrowding and the Border Patrol transportation fleet has not proven adequate to sufficiently move the migrants.
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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