EAGLE PASS, Texas — The Biden administration is in the process of moving 2,000 migrants from an overcrowded Border Patrol processing facility in Eagle Pass, Texas, according to a CBP source. The mass transfer of detainees began early Monday and is aimed to alleviate the strain on Border Patrol facilities and a non-government shelter overwhelmed by the influx of more than 1,000 migrants into Eagle Pass daily.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the sudden surge of migrants began two weeks prior as more than 1,500 migrants crossed the Rio Grande within six hours. The migrants traveled to the border area from southern and central Mexico by freight train. Within days, single groups of mostly Venezuelan migrants numbering more nearly 3,000 strong arrived almost daily in the same manner.
Although the pace of the entries has slowed in recent days to, at times, 1,000 to 1,500 migrants daily, the surge has brought detention numbers to record levels. At the height of the current migrant surge on Thursday, more than 20,000 migrants were being detained by the Border Patrol nationwide, according to the CBP source. The soft-sided processing facility in Eagle Pass, commonly referred to by Border Patrol agents as “Firefly,” is meant to accommodate 1,000 migrant detainees. It has been holding roughly 5,000 migrants of late.
Photos provided to Breitbart Texas by Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) showed hundreds of migrants cramped into the facility during a recent border visit to the beleaguered border city to examine the situation. During a post-visit press conference, Gonzales spoke about the latest large influx of migrants into his district. Gonzales said, “My message is clear – end catch and release, stop using asylum as a hall pass, and put our Border Patrol Agents back on the frontlines.”
As the transfers proceeded, Breitbart Texas posted at the bank of the Rio Grande, where a continuous flow of migrants into the city continues. The overwhelming surge of almost 20,000 migrants into the city in two weeks resulted in the closure of the Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 after CBP Office of Field Operations personnel were redirected to assist the Border Patrol with migrant processing and security.
The OFO officers redirected to assist the Border Patrol normally inspect legal travelers engaged in cross-border commerce and legitimate travel, resulted in excess traffic levels at the Camino Real Port of Entry, the only other entrance into Piedras Negras, Mexico, that straddles the border with Eagle Pass. That city’s population is slightly more than 200,000 residents.
The latest spike in migrant entries into the small border town of Eagle Pass began as the fiscal year approached its end on September 30. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the end of 2023 fiscal year total for migrant encounters along the southwest border with Mexico was more than 2 million. The total does not account for northern border and coastal border migrant encounters or those migrants apprehended at ports of entry nationwide.
The total also excludes the 1,400 migrants granted humanitarian parole by DHS daily through land ports of entry utilizing the CBP-One Application or the up to 1,000 mostly Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Cuban migrants admitted daily to pursue asylum at airports across the United States.
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.