MATAMOROS, Tamaulipas — Texas National Guardsmen and Department of Public Safety troopers set up barbed wire along the northern bank of the Rio Grande creating a barrier to physically keep migrants from climbing out of the Rio Grande. Governor Greg Abbott deployed the Texas Border Force earlier this week to help stop or deter migrant crossings as part of Operation Lone Star.
Breitbart Texas traveled to the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where hundreds of migrants have been trying to get across the Rio Grande. At various times, migrants took to the water and waded across the river but some were forced to turn back after Texas authorities blocked dirt paths leading north from the river.
In some cases, the migrants turned back and moved several yards downstream trying to find another location to climb out of the river and surrendered to U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Two hundred yards downstream from the first attempt some of the migrants tried to make their way through a second location but again were unable to climb up.
On the Mexican side of the river, agents from Mexico’s National Migration Institute shouted at the migrants and used a bullhorn to tell the migrants to stop. The immigration officials threatened to deport the migrants. Their efforts were unsuccessful.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
“J.A. Espinoza” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.
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