Exclusive: Migrants Detained Outdoors as West Texas Border Sector Hits Capacity
Exclusive: Migrants Detained Outdoors as West Texas Border Sector Hits Capacity
by RANDY CLARK 1 Aug 2021
Migrant detention facilities in West Texas, already exceeding capacity, were forced to close their doors to migrants on Saturday as they have exceeded the physical space to take in more. The increasing surge of migrants in the Del Rio Sector forced Border Patrol officials to resort to outdoor detention under the Del Rio International Bridge along the banks of the Rio Grande River.
The migrant surge in Del Rio brought hundreds of mostly Haitian and Venezuelan migrants entering the city illegally on a daily basis, Breitbart Texas reported. Border Patrol agents are met each morning by hundreds of migrants crossing the shallow Rio Grande near the bridge and surrendering to law enforcement officials. The vast numbers are crippling the Border Patrol’s ability to arrest, transport, and process the migrants efficiently and humanely.
Border Patrol Stations in the area have exceeded their capacity to the extent that there is no physical space to hold even one more migrant, according to a source operating under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On Saturday, migrants could be seen under the bridge being guarded by Border Patrol agents in lieu of being transported to the overcrowded facilities. The migrants are being held beyond the border fence and away from public view.
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Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials set up a temporary unmarked command post for the outdoor detention area. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Border Patrol officials set up a command post near the bridge to assist in supervising the migrants and set up temporary toilet facilities in the area.
The temperature outdoors exceeded 100 degrees on Saturday. It is unknown how long the Border Patrol will have to resort to outdoor detention with the surge of migrants hitting levels not seen more than 20 years.
Complicating the matter is an executive order signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that restricts commercial or private transportation of the migrants on Texas highways due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One local non-profit shelter in Eagle Pass, Texas, refused to admit more migrants due to the order. The shelter assists the migrants with transportation into the interior of the United States.
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Officials line up hundreds of migrants’ backpacks near the temporary outdoor detention area set up by Del Rio Sector officials due to overcrowding. (Photo: Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
According to a source within CBP, who wishes to remain anonymous, the Border Patrol throughout Texas is facing a crisis never seen before. “This is definitely a situation that rises beyond a crisis. It’s a disaster in the making,” the source says. The Border Patrol in Del Rio is currently in the number two spot nationwide for migrant apprehensions, averaging more than 1,000 arrests per day.
This fiscal year, which began in October 2020, the Del Rio Sector apprehended more than 149,000 migrants. This figure represents a 503% increase compared to the same time period last year. The source says more than 17,000 migrants are currently being detained by the Border Patrol. More than 10,000 in the Rio Grandy Valley alone.
“At this point, the system seems to be broken beyond repair. We just don’t have the staffing and resources to sustain this surge” the source explained. “Our Agents are frustrated. They are working six-day weeks just to try and get ahead of this crisis and it’s not working. The situation gets worse every day.”
The source says timing could not be worse for the Border Patrol with the reemergence of COVID-19 infections in the area. “It is impossible to socially distance when you are so overcrowded, our facilities are a breeding ground for the virus” the source concluded.
https://www.breitbart.com/border/202...hits-capacity/
WATCH: Up to 1K Migrants Held in Outdoor Processing Center Under Border Bridge in Tex
WATCH: Up to 1K Migrants Held in Outdoor Processing Center Under Border Bridge in Texas
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by BOB PRICE 1 Aug 2021
A video tweeted by Fox News shows perhaps as many as 1,000 migrants being held outdoors under an international border bridge in South Texas on Sunday. The placement of migrants in an outdoor detention facility comes amid the apprehensions of tens of thousands of migrants in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in recent weeks.
“This is the largest group of migrants we’ve ever seen being held by Border Patrol under Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX,” Fox News journalist Bill Melugin tweeted. “Looks like it could be up to 1,000 people.”
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Bill Melugin
@BillFOXLA
NEW: This is the largest group of migrants we’ve ever seen being held by Border Patrol under Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX. Looks like it could be up to 1,000 people. We can only get a look at the area with our drone. There’s a popular Rio Grande crossing area nearby. @FoxNews
https://twitter.com/i/status/1421952928106139649
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5:56 PM · Aug 1, 2021
The Anzalduas bridge has long been the scene of massive numbers of migrants crossing the border from Mexico into Texas.
Melugin also tweeted a still photo of the drone controller’s view of the bridge with up to 1,000 migrants packed underneath. The temperature in the area on Sunday approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Bill Melugin
@BillFOXLA
NEW: Our FOX drone is currently over Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX where a massive group of hundreds of migrants are waiting to be processed out in the heat. Local Border Patrol stations in the McAllen area are extremely over capacity. Over 3,000 in one day on Friday. @FoxNews
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4:43 PM · Aug 1, 2021
Townhall.com’s Julio Rosas also tweeted long-range photos from the area showing the large numbers of people being held outside in the afternoon heat.
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Julio Rosas
@Julio_Rosas11
I’ve seen Border Patrol’s processing site underneath the Anzalduas International Bridge in Mission, TX off and on since March. I can say this is the most illegal immigrants I’ve seen at the site at one time. It’s close to 100 degrees out right now.
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6:04 PM · Aug 1, 2021
The outdoor warehousing of migrants in the Rio Grande Valley comes on the same day officials in the Del Rio Sector began holding migrants outdoors under a similar international bridge in the 100+ degree heat, Breitbart Texas’ Randy Clark reported. Officials were careful to keep the migrants mostly hidden from view of the public.
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2021/08/01/watch-up-to-1k-migrants-held-in-outdoor-processing-center-under-border-bridge-in-texas/
