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.
Border Patrol Agent Hector Garza told Fox News that Congress needs to “get serious and stop rewarding illegal immigration.” His comments follow one of the busiest weeks in Texas immigration history that saw nearly 1,700 migrants illegally cross the border in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in a single day.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a migrant toddler who suffered seizures and convulsions after her mother carried her across the Rio Grande River on Monday. The agents treated the child at the scene and arranged transportation to a hospital.
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.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol officials said that at least 25,000 migrants evaded apprehension this fiscal year after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into South Texas. These are in addition to the more than 120,000 they successfully apprehended.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 500 mostly Central American migrants over the past weekend. The apprehensions included one group of 60 Honduran nationals, including women and young children.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials reportedly closed down inland immigration checkpoints to move more resources to the border. The move comes as the El Paso Sector faces a massive number of illegal large-group border crossings by Central American migrant families. The closures amplify the current crisis along the southwest border.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued two groups of migrant families from the Rio Grande River as they attempted to illegally cross from Mexico. The groups included three young children who were at risk of drowning.
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended the largest single group of migrants in the sector so far this year when nearly 300 surrendered in a matter of hours near Granjeno, Texas.
Border Patrol agents in the nation’s two busiest sectors of the U.S.-Mexico boundary apprehended an average of nearly 900 migrant families per day in February.
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to an immigration checkpoint rescued 76 migrants locked inside a refrigerated trailer. Authorities arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen, on human smuggling charges.
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 700 mostly Central American migrants on Wednesday. The migrants included a 2-year-old unaccompanied minor. Agents also arrested two previously deported sex offenders who attempted to use the large groups as a diversion to sneak over the border.
Texas health officials report that nearly 200 people contracted mumps in migrant detention facilities located across the state so far this fiscal year.
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended several Central American migrants who reported being held at gunpoint and extorted for money by cartel members in Mexico. Agents patrolling near the border in the Laredo Sector apprehended a Honduran male in the
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents saved the life of a 12-year-old boy who nearly drowned while crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into South Texas. The agents pulled the boy’s lifeless body from underwater and revived him.
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued 17 migrants from drowning in the Rio Grande River in three incidents on Thursday.
Police are lining up their vehicles near Eagle Pass, Texas, to help Border Patrol agents stop the illegal crossing of caravan migrants who arrived in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras last week. Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed an additional Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers to the region to assist in securing the border section that has no physical barriers to prevent illegal crossings.
