A recent surge in migrant crossings has resulted in the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector occupying the number two spot in nationwide migrant apprehensions, according to a source within CBP. The source says Border Patrol agents encountered nearly 25,000 migrants so far this month. U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) says the situation is only getting worse.
Agents apprehended nearly 2,000 migrants within the El Paso Sector in one day this week, the CBP source told Breitbart Texas. Rep. Gonzales says the sector has been averaging 1,300 arrests per day in September. Agents encountered more than 280,000 in and around El Paso since the fiscal year began in October 2021.
Gonzales told Breitbart he has been in contact with Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez of the El Paso Sector and is shocked by conditions on the ground.
“They are holding 3,800 people in custody there … That’s an astronomical amount,” he explained. “That facility, which I have toured several times, can hold 1,050. We are looking at almost 400 percent over capacity.”
Gonzales says the City of El Paso is contracting three to six buses per day to transport migrants released by the Border Patrol into the United States. The recent influx has local officials scrambling to accommodate the new arrivals. The Texas Office of Emergency Management is also busing migrants to New York City, among other destinations, to free up space in overcrowded shelters.
Buses, many destined for New York, are following behind those taken by those directed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. However, El Paso officials have, thus far, avoided politically charged attacks from counterparts in New York and Washington, D.C.
Congressman Gonzales acknowledges the political conflicts and says Republicans and Democrats on the border are being consumed by the crisis equally.
Gonzales thinks things may get worse. “I get why the cities and states are trying to do something, these are historic numbers, this situation is getting more chaotic,” the Texas congressman stated. “Putting hundreds of people in a large city in homeless encampments is not a joke and it’s not normal. Every time I think we’ve hit the bottom, it goes lower.”
As the influx unfolds, local officials are struggling to keep up with the impacts facing the city. On Thursday, El Paso County officials held a special session of the commissioner’s court to discuss options to increase capacity at non-government migrant shelters. County Judge Ricardo Samaniego told attendees this influx is different than others in the past. He explained that many of the arriving migrants, mostly Venezuelans, lack any financial sponsorship in the United States.
“Unfortunately, yesterday, we had the highest number of apprehensions of any border sector, it’s one of the highest, so we know El Paso has become an attraction,” Judge Samaniego emphasized. The County expects the expense to taxpayers to provide humanitarian care will reach approximately $16 million for the year, an amount they hope to recover from FEMA.
When asked about the use of FEMA funding, Congressman Gonzales said he was opposed unless structural changes to immigration policy were attached.
“Any transportation to those who do not qualify for asylum needs to be directed back to their home country, not into the United States,” Gonzales said.
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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