Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 3,500 migrants who illegally crossed the border from Mexico into Texas over the weekend. Nearly 1,200 of these crossed in six large groups. More than 500 more are reported as got-aways.
Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted a two-part weekend recap video detailing the activities of what is now the nation’s busiest Border Patrol sector.
Owens reported that Del Rio Sector agents took 3,487 migrants into custody over the weekend. This left more than 3,000 in detention by Monday morning. Another 529 are classified as known got-aways by Border Patrol officials.
This is the second weekend in a row where migrant apprehensions in the Del Rio Sector exceeded 3,400. On August 16, Breitbart Texas reported a tweet from Owens showing the arrest of 3,441 migrants.
The chief stated that nearly 1,200 migrants crossed in six large groups over the weekend. The human smuggling tactic of moving large groups across the border ties up Border Patrol resources and can end up with no line operations along the border for significant periods of time.
“When we have the large number of people in custody that puts us over our established capacity, we do have to collapse down some operations temporarily to decompress what we’re holding in custody,” Owes said in an apparent response to a Breitbart Texas article by Randy Clark which reported the suspension of routine patrols along the border to deal with overcrowding.
“But rest assured, as soon as we can, we get those men and women back to the field and out on patrol where they belong,” he added. “It’s a standard play that we do any time that we see large numbers and large influxes, especially with these large groups, on a day-to-day basis.”
“So when you hear that, just know it’s a temporary condition and as soon as we are able, we get the agents back out on patrol where they belong,” Owens concluded.
Also over the weekend, agents rescued 11 migrants from life-threatening situations as they crossed illegally into Texas. Unfortunately, three migrants drowned over the weekend, Owens stated.
On Saturday, Breitbart Texas reported that Eagle Pass-area agents recovered five drowned migrants during a three-day period. Three of those occurred on Thursday and were not included in Owens’s weekend recap. This brings a five-day total of migrant deaths to six.
The number of migrants who die while crossing or shortly after crossing the border near Eagle Pass caused a local funeral home to stop accepting migrant remains, Breitbart reported.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection source told Breitbart Texas that the director of Memorial Funeral Home reported his facility is beyond capacity and can no longer accept remains of migrants found in the Rio Grande or on nearby ranches.
On Thursday morning, the funeral home carried out a mass burial of at least ten deceased migrants. The bodies were reportedly unidentified at the time.
The director said the cancellation of the policy of accepting deceased migrants is effective on Thursday.
In July, Del Rio Sector agents led the nation with the apprehension of approximately 50,000 migrants, Breitbart Texas reported.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.