Exclusive Video: Colombian Migrants Cross Unmanned Texas Border River Section

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Breitbart Texas posted along the border locally to witness a family of Colombian migrants cross the Rio Grande hoping to surrender to law enforcement Sunday. There were no officers in the immediate vicinity when they made landfall.

The five migrants were among several groups that crossed the Rio Grande searching for Border Patrol agents. Texas Army National Guardsmen were posted upriver from the scene. The Colombian migrants told Breitbart Texas they left their home more than a month ago and are hoping to be released into the United States while they pursue asylum.

The family group consisted of a pair of brothers, their wives, and a small child. The group can be seen crossing the Rio Grande in an area where Border Patrol marine units typically launch patrol vessels during the day. Border Patrol, according to a source within CBP, is struggling to keep pace with more than the more than 1,000 migrants crossing daily into the small city.

The surge of crossings has limited the Border Patrol’s ability to fully staff all areas due to the demands of processing and providing humanitarian care for migrants. The Colombians said they hoped to travel to Chicago for employment.

Large migrant groups numbering in the hundreds apiece cross the Rio Grande during early morning hours on most days. Later, smaller groups cross unabated into downtown regularly. Breitbart Texas noted an absence of law enforcement on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande as well. Despite warning signs about the dangers of crossing the river posted by Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM), no officers were present.

Most migrants who voluntarily surrender are transported to a nearby soft-sided detention facility manned by the Border Patrol, where they will be processed and quickly released to pursue asylum.

Migrants from countries still subject to immediate expulsion under the Title 42 CDC Emergency COVID order choose more surreptitious methods and areas to cross.

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.