Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 37,000 migrants in April, a source reports. This more than doubles the apprehensions in March and exceeds the previous two months combined.
A source operating under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection not authorized to speak to the media on these matters told Breitbart Texas that agents apprehended more than 37,000 migrants in April. The monthly total represents an increase of more than 100 percent from the nearly 18,000 migrants apprehended in March. It also exceeds the total apprehensions for February and March combined — just under 33,000.
The tremendous spike in migrant apprehensions in April come just ahead of the expected demise of the CDC’s Title 42 coronavirus protection protocol that allows Border Patrol agents to expel migrants for health concerns. That program will reportedly end on May 11.
Leading the spike are the apprehensions during the past two weeks of more than 26,000 Venezuelan migrants who have been crossing the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, to Brownsville, Texas. The Venezuelan migrant surge directly contradicts claims by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that the border is not open.
The Venezuelan migrant surge quickly overwhelmed Border Patrol resources in the Brownsville area forcing the release of migrants onto nearby city streets, Breitbart Texas reported.
Authorities in Mexico did little, if anything, to prevent the surge of Venezuelan migrant crossings.
In response, Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed additional DPS troopers and National Guard resources to the region to help slow or turn back migrants attempting to cross from Matamoros into Brownsville. The deployment comes under the governor’s Operation Lone Star border security initiative.
In addition to the strain on local and federal resources, the migrants leave behind a trail of devastation as tons of clothing, identification documents, and other waste pile up along the north bank of the Rio Grande, a video from the Texas Department of Public Safety illustrated.
The surge in migrant crossings in this single South Texas border sector to not look good for the Biden administration as it approached the deadline to end Title 42. Officials in other sectors, including El Paso, Tucson, Del Rio, and San Diego are all reporting increases in apprehensions.
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.
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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