THE INVASION AS TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CALLS IT

One hundred migrants an HOUR are entering Eagle Pass: Texas border town overrun as border patrol agents pull body from Rio Grande after second drowning in 24 hours

CBP agents slam 'monstrous' Biden administration for letting it happen 

 

By Jen Smith

 

Daily Mail

Sep 21, 2023

 

A woman pulls a toddler under wire fencing at an illegal border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday. More than 100 migrants are entering the town every hour 

 

A second person has drowned while trying to enter the US illegally in Eagle Pass, Texas, a day after a three-year-old boy died while 10,000 migrants rushed to get into the border town. 

FOX News reports it was a middle aged man who drowned this morning, as Customs and Border Patrol agents raced to keep up with the influx. 

Since Wednesday morning, an astonishing 10,000 migrants have entered Eagle Pass, a small border town of fewer than 30,000. Most have been released after being processed. 

Some 700 migrants crossed in today over a period of seven hours, averaging 100 migrants every hour, according to border patrol agents at the scene cited by NewsNation.

 

A migrant is dragged beneath wire fencing in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday 

Border Patrol agents wait on the other side of cut barbed wire in Eagle Pass, Texas, as barefoot families crawl under 

Border agents pull the body of a middle aged man from the Rio Grande on Thursday. He is the second person to drown in 24 hours in the border town 

Among the 10,000 migrants who have crossed illegally into the US in the last 24 hours is this unaccompanied five-year-old girl, who has her mother's name and phone number written on her t-shirt. She was among a group of 90 men, according to CBS's Sydney Hernandez

Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas 

A pregnant mother walks with her young son into Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday September 21

 

As more make their way into the US, the Border Patrol Union is begging the White House to take action. 

Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council, said today he believes that the Biden administration is deliberately ignoring the problem to 'energize' Democrats before the November election. 

'We have opened the flood gates. All it's going to do is encourage more people to cross our border illegally - it's a reward for breaking our law. We're going to see the numbers skyrocket even more - it makes absolutely no sense. 

'We believe this is politics, that this administration is trying to pander to an open- border base, energize their base to get them out to vote. It makes our country a lot less secure. 

'It's monstrous to see what this administration is doing,' he said. 

Ten thousand migrants have crossed illegally into Eagle Pass, Texas, in the last 24 hours, triggering a state of emergency in the small border town where shelters and hospitals are now overrun. 

Before sunrise this morning, another 250 were waiting to be processed. Hundreds more are expected today in what many residents say is the worst border crisis they have ever seen.

 

Many of the migrants flooding into Eagle Pass this week are from Venezuela. Others have come from Mexico, Honduras and other Central and South American countries 

A Texas National Guardsman yells as a group of migrants break through wire to enter Ciudad Juarez

An aerial view shows desperate migrant families breaking through wire to enter the US 

A woman cries as she seeks help crossing concertina wire on Thursday in Eagle Pass

US Border Patrol agents speak with young children at Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday 

FOX News cites border patrol agents who say 10,000 have been 'encountered' in a single 24 hour period - one of the highest numbers ever seen. 

The Biden administration has sent 800 troops to the border to assist Texas National Guardsmen who are already there. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott yesterday eviscerated President Biden for allowing the unfolding disaster. The only migrant shelter in the city, Mission Border Hope, has now been overrun with migrants. 

Many fled from Venezuela and arrived in the US via Mexico. Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas declared a state of emergency yesterday, warning that the town's hospitals are also becoming overwhelmed. 

Yesterday, a three-year-old boy drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass with his family. 

The bridge between Eagle Pass and the Mexican city across the border, Piedras Negras, was closed on Wednesday so border agents could be redeployed to work on processing migrants.

Randy Clark, a retired Border Patrol agent, said the decision to close the border to those legally crossing back and forth showed the scale of the problem.

'The only closure at the border is one of two ports of entry where legal residents and citizens cross. The inconvenience by DHS is reserved for legitimate trade and travel,' he wrote on X.

 

Migrants wait to be processed in Eagle Pass on Thursday morning after overwhelming the small Texas border town yesterday

Thousands of migrants are pictured lining up to be processed on arrival in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday. At one point the line stretched five miles

The line of migrants awaiting processing on Wednesday stretched as far as the eye could see in Eagle Pass

Migrants sit under the bridge on Wednesday in Eagle Pass, awaiting processing

Border agents say criminal gangs are taking 'full advantage' of the escalating crisis by increasing their human trafficking efforts. Above, a group of 49 who were found in a 'poorly ventilated trailer. They had come from Guatemala and Honduras

These are the temporary work permits that have been issued to nearly 500,000 Venezuelan migrants who have entered the country since January

 

'No impediments on the constant flow of illegal traffic between the ports. 'This government is on crazy pills!'

The line for processing illegal immigrants on Wednesday stretched for five miles on Wednesday, NewsNation reported, and wound its way back into Mexico.

Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, said 2,500 people crossed into his town of 29,000 on Monday - and 7,200 the week before.

So far this year, the Del Rio sector of the border, in which Eagle Pass sits, has recorded 317,866 migrant 'encounters', the latest Border Patrol data shows.

The figure is a 15.5 percent decrease on the same time period last year, but Salinas said his town was still struggling.

 

Rolando Salinas, the mayor of Eagle Pass, said 2,500 people crossed into his town of 29,000 on Monday. On Tuesday night he declared a state of emergency

Migrants are pictured wading across the Rio Grande from Piedras Negras to Eagle Pass last week

 

'It has taken a toll on our local resources, specifically our police force and our fire department,' he said on Tuesday night.

'I've been getting a lot of calls from our constituents that they get worried, they see a lot of people in our community.

'But it is my understanding that some of these people, they don't want to be there. So they're leaving (the shelters), and they're on our streets, and I understand the concerns of a lot of people.'

The Biden administration said it will send 800 active-duty military personnel to the border, to boost efforts by the 2,500 National Guardsmen already deployed to help Customs and Border Protection at the border.

Abbott, the Texas governor, said he was also sending additional members of the state National Guard.

He said the razor wire his team had installed along the banks of the river had been taken down: he deployed troops to reinstall it.

'Texas installed razor wire in Eagle Pass to stop illegal crossings,' said Abbott. 'Today the Biden Admin CUT that wire, opening the floodgates to illegal immigrants.

'I immediately deployed more Texas National Guard to repel illegal crossings & install more razor wire.'

 

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the Biden administration cut the razor wire along the border - so he was sending people to replace it

Abbott said the Biden administration was not doing enough to stem the flow

 

And amid the anguish at the border, the Biden administration was trumpeting its Venezuela decision.

Alejandro Mayorkas, the Homeland Security Secretary, granted the expansion of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) due to 'Venezuela's increased instability and lack of safety due to the enduring humanitarian, security, political, and environmental conditions,' the department said in a statement.

There are currently approximately 242,700 TPS beneficiaries under Venezuela's existing TPS designation, who will be able to remain a further 18 months.

There are an additional approximately 472,000 nationals of Venezuela who are now eligible for the scheme.

Critics say the promise of work will encourage illegal crossings - even though anyone who crossed after July 31, or failed to register, is ineligible.

But supporters of the scheme said it allowed those migrants awaiting processing to work and support themselves, reducing the burden on the states.

'More than 116,000 asylum seekers have come to New York City since last spring in search of the American Dream,' tweeted Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, and one of the most vocal in calling for migrants to be allowed to work.

'Our administration and our partners across the city have led the calls to 'Let Them Work,' so I want to thank @POTUS for hearing our entire coalition, including our hard-working congressional delegation, and taking this important step that will bring hope to the thousands of Venezuelan asylum seekers currently in our care who will now be immediately eligible for Temporary Protected Status.'

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said she too was pleased - and appeared to claim credit for the decision.

'After my productive conversation with @POTUS last night, I'm grateful the federal government has acted so speedily to grant one of our top priorities: providing Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants & asylum seekers who have already arrived in this country,' she wrote on X.

'There's more work to do as we address the migrant crisis, but the State of New York is prepared to immediately begin the process of signing people up for work authorization & getting them into jobs so they can become self-sufficient.'

 

Migrants from Venezuela are seen wading through the Rio Grande on September 15 to arrive in Eagle Pass