EAGLE PASS, Texas — A group of 362 migrants ignored the increased dangers of crossing into Eagle Pass, Texas, early Saturday morning. The group crossed in spite of the unusually swift currents in the Rio Grande caused by recent heavy rains.
A group of mostly nearly 400 Venezuelan, Cuban, and Nicaraguan nationals surrendered to authorities just south of the Eagle Pass, according to a source with Customs and Border Protection. The area where the migrants chose to ford the river has proven deadly to migrants in recent days due to the increased flow of water in the river. Officials identified the members of the group as mostly single adult males and females — several families with young children were also present.
As exclusively reported by Breitbart Texas, on Thursday a group of approximately more than 50 migrants apprehended by the Border Patrol reported seeing several migrants swept away by the strong currents. By Saturday, Border Patrol agents and Mexican officials recovered the bodies of nine drowned migrants swept away while authorities on both sides of the border continue search and recovery efforts. With rains forecasted over the coming days, the deadly conditions are likely to worsen.
According to the CBP source, the large group of migrants apprehended on Saturday will likely be released into the United States to pursue asylum claims. Citizens of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua are not amenable to a speedy return to Mexico under the CDC Title 42 Emergency COVID-19 authority, the source says. With limited options to remove the migrants to their home country, most will be released to a non-government shelter where transportation into the interior of the United States will be coordinated according to the CBP source.
Eagle Pass, part of the Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector, has become the hotspot for migrant crossings and currently leads all other border cities in migrant apprehensions. As reported exclusively by Breitbart Texas, more than 52,000 migrants crossed the Mexican border into the Texas-based Del Rio Sector in August, according to a source within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This is an increase over the record-setting number of apprehensions set in July.
A source operating under the umbrella of CBP told Breitbart Texas that agents in the Del Rio Sector apprehended nearly 1,700 migrants per day in August. This raised the number of migrants apprehended in the sector from 50,000 in July to more than 52,000 in August. Most of the migrants apprehended in the sector in August chose to cross the Mexican border into Eagle Pass.
The massive number of migrants crossing into the Del Rio Sector daily led to overcrowding in detention facilities as the agency struggles to transport, process, and provide humanitarian care for the detainees. As a result, Border Patrol officials have resorted to suspending routine field patrols to alleviate the overcrowding.
With no changes to border enforcement policies on the horizon, the source believes the migrant crossings into Eagle Pass are likely to continue to increase.
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.