BROWNSVILLE, Texas — As thunderstorms struck the border region, nearly 2,000 migrants crossed the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico hoping to gain release as the end of the COVID-19 Title 42 authority nears. Braving the heavy downpour on Thursday, Border Patrol agents and local authorities struggled to move the mostly Venezuelan migrants out of the weather.
A source within Customs and Border Protection, not authorized to speak to the media told Breitbart Texas that the migrant crossings are rising steadily each day. As reported by Breitbart Texas, more than 1,600 migrants were apprehended in a single twenty-four-hour period ending Sunday.
Large groups of migrants surrender to Border Patrol agents in Brownsville, Texas. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)
Since then, the source says nearly 7,000 migrants made the crossing into Brownsville. The increase in migrant crossings is also negatively impacting detention capabilities all along the southwest border. According to the source, more than 19,000 migrants are in temporary detention facilities awaiting processing. Of those, more than 7,000 are being held in detention facilities within the Texas Rio Grande Valley.
To address the sudden surge of migrants into Brownsville, a contingent of Border Patrol agents from Laredo has been dispatched to assist with the task of processing the arriving migrants.
The source told Breitbart Texas nearly 2,000 migrants crossed on Thursday alone. After crossing the Rio Grande, the migrants gathered near a make-shift intake center where biographical information was taken and personal property was inventoried.
On Thursday, as Breitbart Texas looked on, a mobile command center arrived at the make-shift intake center to assist in the arduous task of receiving the large number of migrants surrendering near the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Campus.
At the hastily set up intake center, the Border Patrol placed portable bathroom facilities to accommodate the increased migrant crossings. The migrants are transported from the intake center to processing centers in multiple areas in the Texas Rio Grande Valley as transportation resources become available.
In Matamoros, law enforcement authorities in Mexico seemed to show little concern as a constant flow of migrants crossed into the United States. As reported by Breitbart Texas, officers with Mexico’s National Institute of Migration watched on as migrants crossed the Rio Grande into Texas taking no action to impede the crossings.
While visiting a migrant encampment in Matamoros, Breitbart Texas observed several groups of migrants using inflatable air mattresses to ford the Rio Grande after being charged a fee.
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.