Migrant Surge in Texas Border Town Outpacing Haitian Crisis of 2021

EAGLE PASS, Texas — An estimated 1,500 mostly Venezuelan migrants entered the small border town of Eagle Pass, Texas,  during the late evening hours on Tuesday. The latest group of migrants to surrender to authorities brings the eight-day total of migrant crossings to more than 16,000. It took ten full days in September 2021 for 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants to ford the river during the infamous immigration surge in Del Rio.

In just over a week, Breitbart Texas observed more than 16,000 migrants stream across the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, to Eagle Pass. Despite the heavy presence of local, state, and federal law enforcement, Texas military soldiers, and layers of razor wire, the migrants crossed the border into Texas unscathed. Border Patrol agents scrambled to find transportation to quickly move the migrants from the highly visible park in Eagle Pass to grossly overcrowded detention centers.

Media swarmed to the Eagle Pass area to cover the current migrant crisis, due in part, to the easy access for photojournalists to the staging area. In contrast, the 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants were detained outdoors in the grueling heat for days on end in an area not visible to media cameras.

During the Haitian crisis, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed he did not know the migrants were coming in these large numbers. However, Breitbart’s coverage of the growing crisis proved there was no way he could not have known.

For nearly a month, constant news reports from Breitbart Texas followed the migrant population count and eventually about the population at the camp. These data did not escape the intelligence-gathering capabilities of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The government’s own press releases helped to tally the arrivals.

In early September, 500 migrants were detained by DHS at the camp. By September 12, 1,500 were detained. By the end of that same day, 2,000 had arrived. On the 14^th, 3,000 were living in squalor below the bridge. By the 15^th, 5,000 had arrived without a federal response.

On September 16, the count had risen to 10,000 mostly Haitian migrants. Over the next three days, the count reached nearly 15,000.

More than 2,000 migrants crossed the border into Eagle Pass by midnight on Tuesday morning. This has become an average day for migrant apprehensions during the past eight days as more than 16,000 migrants crossed into the small Texas border town. Eagle Pass has a population of less than 30,000 people.

As migrants continued crossing the border on Tuesday, border agents received a surprise visit from their boss, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens. The chief praised his agents for how quickly they were able to process the migrants — a sharp contrast from the 2021 Haitian crisis where migrants were left in the heat for days.

“I want you to notice the efforts of our Border Patrol agents, the spirit, drive, and determination that the men and women who wear this uniform have, who come in each and every day to face the overwhelming challenges they face managing not only this influx, but trying to maintain the border security mission that keeps all of our communities safe,” Owens emphasized.

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One day earlier, a group of Republican congressmen from Texas and New York visited the same location to get a first-hand look at the current crisis.

Some of the representatives demanded that solutions to the ongoing border security crisis be tied to the looming budget talks.

After the day’s border tour, Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) told reporters, “Now more than ever, Congress needs to pass a strong budget that puts a stop to Biden’s open-borders agenda. This should not be a partisan issue.”

West Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington added, “Congress is broken. It’s hard to have any hope they’re going to do much about the border crisis, but we are going to push and use the power of the purse.”

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.