EAGLE PASS, Texas — As law enforcement in Mexico and the United States assembled on both sides of the Rio Grande, migrant groups rushed across the river to avoid capture Wednesday. The nearly 50 migrants avoided Mexican police on a remote stretch of river that sees more than one thousand illegal crossings a day.
The joint operations commenced early Wednesday and involved state law enforcement and Texas Army National Guard soldiers. As authorities gathered two miles south of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, migrants staging along the Rio Grande quickly entered the water and surrendered on the U.S. side.
Breitbart Texas captured video of the migrants crossing as authorities in Mexico arrived to begin simultaneous patrols.
The operation mirrors similar efforts by Mexican authorities in the downtown Piedras Negras/Eagle Pass area. As reported by Breitbart Texas, earlier operations focused only on incorporated areas close to the centers of the sister cities. Wednesday’s bi-national effort focused on a remote area south of the cities where migrant crossings are spiking.
The security operations are part of an agreement signed by Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott in April. The deal calls for Mexico to conduct high visibility operations at busy crossing points.
Groups of migrants numbering beyond 100 in size have crossed in this remote with little resistance. Those apprehended on Wednesday, mostly Central American migrants, narrowly avoided capture by authorities in Mexico. Without documentation from Mexican immigration authorities, the migrants could have faced deportation.
Soldiers stationed on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande led the migrants to Border Patrol agents for transfer to a federal processing center.
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.