EAGLE PASS, Texas — According to a federal spokesperson, 56 percent of all large migrant groups entering the United States from Mexico are choosing to do so in the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector. Large groups are defined as 100 or more persons. This border town currently leads the nation in large group crossings.
On Tuesday, a group of more than 250 mostly single adult males forded the Rio Grande and surrendered to waiting Border Patrol agents. The group, mostly Venezuelan, Cuban, and Nicaraguan migrants, lined up for buses to a nearby processing facility as mid-day temperatures steadily rose. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the vary in size, sometimes 500-strong in a single crossing.
Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol troopers and Texas Army National Guard soldiers helped the agents sort the migrants by nationality, family unit status, and gender. As has become routine, the few Border Patrol agents available to accept custody of the migrants arrived in transit buses.
As part of Operation Lonestar, highway patrol and National Guard soldiers placed themselves along the busiest border crossings to stem the local flow of migrants. The operation commenced in March 2021.
Most of those within the group apprehended on Tuesday will apply for asylum and be released to await the outcome of their cases in the United States. According to a CBP source speaking on the condition of anonymity, very few migrants within the large groups are removed.
Eagle Pass, part of the Del Rio Sector of the Border Patrol with a local population of 29,000, currently leads all other border cities in migrant apprehensions. According to CBP, more than 45,000 migrants were apprehended in the Del Rio Sector in June. Most of this total entered near Eagle Pass. Migrant apprehensions rose more than 1,300 percent in June, when compared to June 2020.
The volume of migrant crossings in the small Texas border town is overwhelming the agency and resulted in overcrowding at Border Patrol stations and the newly built soft-sided processing facility.
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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