State Border Agents ‘Overwhelmed’ By Illegal Crossings


Posted Monday, April 8th 2013 @ 6am by By KTRH’s Cliff Saunders
As the so-called ‘Gang of Eight’ Senators in Washington continue towards an agreement on immigration, border patrol agents in Texas say they are being stretched, trying to deal with a surge in people crossing the border illegally.
The problem has been getting worse in recent months according to Janice Kephart of the Center for Immigration Studies.
“The border patrol says they are in the position now where they are going to have to start tent cities,” Kephart told KTRH.
Kephart says officials have seen a 500 percent surge in border activity since August of last year. According to recent numbers, the amount of people being taken into custody is up 13%. The Rio Grande Valley has seen more than a 50% increase in activity.
Brad Bailey of the Texas Immigration Solution says the border is not as tight as officials like Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano would have you believe.
“I think we have a very porous border. We need to look at every option available,” Bailey said.
Kephart says she doesn’t understand why Napolitano is walking around saying there has been progress in securing the border.
“I don’t know what she is being told by whom, but she honestly believes what she says,” Kephart explained.
Bailey says something needs to be done quickly.
“The system is broken. It is time for Congress to act. Federal funding of state and local law enforcement agencies need to be implement very fast,” Bailey explained.
All of this comes as the bipartisan group of Senators tries to get a deal done on immigration. And they are hoping for a deal within the next couple of weeks.

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