EAGLE PASS, Texas — More than 500 migrants in four large groups crossed into Eagle Pass over the weekend. Most concerning, according to a source with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is the number of Special Interest Aliens embedded within the groups. Since Friday, five migrants from Iran, 19 from Egypt, four from Afghanistan, and five migrants from Turkey were arrested after illegally crossing the Rio Grande into the small Texas border town of Eagle Pass.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the number of Special Interest Aliens apprehended in Eagle Pass increased in recent weeks. The source within CBP told Breitbart Texas the increase is a new phenomenon for the area.
“On the whole, the Special Interest Aliens have crossed predominately in Arizona and California,” the source explained. “We have seen huge numbers in the past, but they consist of mostly Venezuelan, Cuban, and Central American migrants that choose to surrender in large groups.”
Since Friday, another alarming trend, according to the source, is the number of unaccompanied migrant children appearing at the border in Eagle Pass. “Since Friday, 102 unaccompanied migrant children who have been sent to the border alone by their families have been apprehended. That’s about 20 percent of what we have seen in the most recent groups,” the source emphasized.
On Monday, the latest group of 150 migrants that crossed into Eagle Pass in a single group included three citizens of Turkey, 19 citizens of Egypt, and 24 unaccompanied alien children of different nationalities according to the source. On Sunday, a single group of 130 migrants crossed into Eagle Pass. That included four citizens of Afghanistan, two Albanian nationals, and 33 children left by their parents to cross the border alone, according to the source.
Several posts on X by Texas DPS spokesperson Lieutenant Chris Olivares confirmed the information provided by our source. His posts included photos of the unusually large groups being encountered in Eagle Pass. According to the posts by the Texas Department of Public Safety, some in the migrant groups, mainly single adult migrants, will be prosecuted for trespassing. The remainder, which consisted of family units and unaccompanied migrant children, were turned over to the Border Patrol for processing.
According to the source, those prosecuted for public trespassing migrant children will be released by Border Patrol into the United States to pursue asylum claims upon the conclusion of any Texas state prosecution procedures. The unaccompanied migrant children will be released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to sponsors within the United States to pursue asylum claims.
According to the source, the recent influx of larger migrant groups and the change in demographics that include an increase in unaccompanied migrant children and Special Interest Aliens is alarming. “We have dealt with large groups in the past. The fact that the Special Interest Aliens are coming here instead of Arizona or San Diego is new. We have our suspicions about why and are pursuing that intelligence actively right now,” the source told Breitbart Texas.
According to CBP, nearly 250,000 migrant apprehensions have occurred in the Del Rio Sector of the Border Patrol. According to the source, nearly 80 percent of all apprehensions within the sector occur within the city of Eagle Pass.
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 X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.