EAGLE PASS, Texas — According to a source within Customs and Border Protection, the agency is experiencing a drastic, albeit likely brief slowdown in migrant border crossings in recent days. The unusual reductions have provided relief to temporary detention facilities in turn. The source says detention levels have dropped to 6,000 nationwide from a high of more than 15,000 in late November.
The slowdown is being felt throughout the southwest border sectors. In El Paso, where more than 5,000 migrants were being detained several weeks ago, that number has reportedly reduced to slightly more than 1,000.
The Department of Homeland Security has pressured Mexico to divert migrants from El Paso in response to the recent surge. The negotiations focused on diverting buses in Mexico to parts further south and closer to the Rio Grande Valley.
In addition, the source says migrants are bottlenecked in Tapachula, Chiapas, waiting for Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) to issue travel documents necessary to proceed to the US-Mexico Border. In a Noticias Telemundo report on Monday, some 5,000 migrants gathered to protest the slowdown in the permitting.
Another issue that may be contributing to the slowdown in crossings is the return of United States residents visiting Mexico for the holidays. In Piedras Negras, opposite Eagle Pass, immigration checkpoints have been established to detect the buses of migrants headed to the border region.
On Tuesday, traffic on Mexico’s Highway 57 was gridlocked with thousands of returning visitors headed back to the United States. The traffic gridlock and inspection station near Piedras Negras may be forcing migrants to avoid travel toward Eagle Pass.
The slowdown is a much-needed break for the Border Patrol agents apprehending the large groups of migrants surrendering daily, the source told Breitbart Texas. The presumably brief lull allows agents to increase routine field patrols.
In December, Border Patrol agents arrested 220,000 migrants along the southwest border — making it the busiest December for apprehensions in the agency’s history.
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.