Officials in Texas report that four more migrants died recently after being abandoned by human smugglers on ranches near the Mexican border. At least 155 migrants have been found dead while or shortly after crossing the border from Mexico into Texas in 2019.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials awarded an $80 million contract last week for the construction of 11 miles of new border wall. The project, scheduled to start in September 2019, will build new barriers and security roads in the Rio Grande Valley Sector where none exists today.
Brooks County Sheriff’s deputies recovered the bodies of at least nine migrants in July on ranches located about 80 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The migrants consist of seven men, one female, and one undetermined. All hailed from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
As Mexico increases its efforts to crack down on human smuggling, Border Patrol and other law enforcement officials report a continuing decrease in the number of apprehensions in July.
Border Patrol agents assigned to the Brownsville Station teamed up with Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations officers to rescue a migrant father and son when they became trapped in strong currents in the Rio Grande. The pair attempted to cross the river with a group of about 49 migrants.
Sheriff’s deputies in Brooks County, Texas, recovered the decaying remains of three migrants in five days. The migrants all appeared to have died after being abandoned by human smugglers on ranches surrounding the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint. To date, nearly 20 migrants have died in this single Texas county located 80 miles from the Mexican border.
Federal authorities arrested a leading lieutenant with Mexico’s Gulf Cartel in Texas after he illegally snuck across the Rio Grande to enter the United States. Law enforcement agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had their sights on the cartel cell leader for some time in connection with multiple drug shipments allegedly linked to him.
A Texas reporter in the Rio Grande Valley took her camera to Rincon Village and witnessed approximately 300 migrants crossing the border and turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents. The crossings occurred Tuesday night between 6 p.m. and midnight.
Apprehensions of migrant families who illegally cross the southwestern border from Mexico in Fiscal Year 2019 increased 469 percent over the same period last year. Despite the nearly 33 percent drop of migrant family apprehensions from May to June 2019, the increase in year-to-date apprehensions illustrates the enormity of the current crisis.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a single group of 168 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, and Cuba on Sunday. This sector is currently averaging more than 1,000 migrant apprehensions per day — mostly family units and unaccompanied minors.
Brooks County Sheriff’s Office deputies recovered the decomposing bodies of two migrants who died on ranchlands located 80 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The recoveries mark 15 migrant deaths this year in this single South Texas county. Brooks County Sheriff’s
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended more than 3,500 migrants who illegally crossed during a three-day period this week. The flow continues despite efforts by the Mexican government to reverse the trend.
Sheriff’s deputies and federal authorities are on scene at a popular border park in the city of Mission after discovering the bodies of a woman, two infants, and a toddler near the banks of the Rio Grande.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican national with a history of immigration violations for allegedly carrying a Molotov cocktail as he crossed the boundary near Roma, Texas.
Border Patrol agents in Texas and Arizona are repeatedly racing to perform rescues in rising summer temperatures after Mexican cartel-connected human smugglers abandon migrants.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents resuscitated a drowning infant migrant after his mother attempted to illegally cross the Rio Grande into Texas on Wednesday.
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector rescued five migrants from the possibility of death at the hands of cartel-connected human smugglers. Four of the rescues occurred in the Rio Grande while the fifth was on a ranch 80 miles from the border.
Brooks County Sheriff’s Office deputies recovered the body of a young migrant woman who died while circumventing an inland Border Patrol checkpoint. The woman appeared to suffer chest pains before collapsing.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Customs and Border Protection officers seized nearly a half-ton of methamphetamine at a port of entry in Pharr, Texas. Officials reported the value of the drugs at nearly $19 million.
Border Patrol agents are currently holding an average of 8,000 migrants per day in facilities in the Rio Grande Valley Sector of South Texas. This represents about half of the total number of migrants in U.S. custody nationwide.
The record-setting waves of migrants flowing into the Rio Grande Valley Sector forced U.S. Border Patrol agents to build tents outside of their stations for temporary housing. Some migrants were also held in parking lots. The new measures come after a newly built tent facility nearby already reached its maximum capacity.
U.S. Border Patrol officials are now using air transportation to move migrants from overcrowded processing centers to lesser-impacted facilities, particularly from the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 2,400 migrants Saturday. The apprehensions are part of an “unprecedented” number of illegal immigrants crossing the border on a daily basis.
Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector are now holding more than 7,000 mostly Central American migrant families in custody.
A group of migrants abandoned a three-year-old boy in a field near the Texas border with Mexico on Tuesday. The boy has no identification and is having difficulty speaking to agents who are attempting to locate his parents.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the beginning of construction for 13 miles of the Rio Grande Valley Wall System Project. The new improvements are on federal land in the McAllen Station area of responsibility, officials stated.
Authorities are investigating the shooting of a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper in the city of Edinburg which is located about 12 miles from the Rio Grande River border with Mexico. The suspect is believed to still be at large.
The surge of Central American migrant families and unaccompanied minors is overwhelming charitable organizations along the border who are tasked with providing shelter and aid. Recent changes in Border Patrol policies led to migrants being released directly to shelters instead of being turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The ongoing border crisis forced Border Patrol officials to implement a massive catch and release program where most migrants illegally crossing the border are released shortly after being processed. The policy comes as Border Patrol officials estimate that more than 100,000 migrants will be apprehended in March.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 1,700 migrants in a single day in South Texas. The apprehensions represent the largest single-day total for the sector since 2014.
