EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas Army National Guard soldiers and Highway Patrol Troopers moved south along the Rio Grande to begin a bi-national operation with Mexican law enforcement. On Wednesday, authorities on both sides of the border moved into the remote area two miles south of the city.
The security operations are part of an agreement signed by Coahuila Governor Miguel Angel Riquelme Solis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott in April. The deal calls for Mexico to conduct high visibility operations at busy crossing points.
Similar operations have been conducted near the downtown areas of the sister cities and led to reduced crossings. The stretch of Rio Grande chosen is known to experience nearly 1,000 migrant crossings daily.
Breitbart Texas/Randy Clark
On the Mexico side, agencies participating in the efforts included Mexico’s National Guard, a division of Mexico’s federal police, Coahuila’s Policia De Accion y Reaccion (PAR), and Grupo Beta, a rescue team. Border Patrol water and air assets could also be observed.
As authorities arrived at the area early Wednesday, migrants staging along the Rio Grande in Mexico quickly crossed the Rio Grande and surrendered to soldiers in the U.S.
Soldiers stationed on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande led the migrants to Border Patrol agents for transfer to a federal processing center.
The joint bi-national border security operation will run sporadically for several weeks in the hopes of reducing crossings, according to a spokesperson for the Texas Military Department.
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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