ROMA, Texas — Two smugglers took turns battling the currents of the Rio Grande in inflatable rafts to drop off family units, unaccompanied minors and single adult males on the U.S. side of the border. It was a scene that has long played out on the southern border, with the recent difference of how frequently it has been occurring since Joe Biden became the president.
I had just come from La Joya, about an hour east of Roma, where the all-too-familiar scene of hundreds of illegal immigrants who willing gave themselves up to Border Patrol continued. Now in a different hotspot along the U.S.-Mexico border, it seemed the surge of people from Latin America and a host of other counties illegally entering the United States has not slowed down.
Back in La Joya, TX. Border Patrol has around 65 illegal immigrants, mostly families and unaccompanied minors, in their custody. Around ten more showed ups after this picture was taken. pic.twitter.com/fnRGmIr6BK
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 29, 2021
Upon arrival in Roma, Border Patrol agents were already busy processing a group of at least 40 illegal immigrants near the spot along the river where smugglers like to drop people off. Due to the massive volume of people that night, no law enforcement was down by the drop-off point to intercept people who may not have wanted to turn themselves in.
Smugglers went back and forth bringing people across the Rio Grande for a couple of hours. It’s like this almost every night. pic.twitter.com/1g3u9ILMut
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) June 29, 2021
The continued surge in illegal immigrants comes after Vice President Kamala Harris finally visited a border town, El Paso, as she made her way to Los Angeles. What many took away from her trip to that part of the southern border is how she took the easy way out by visiting a part where the worst aspects of the crisis are harder to see. When she visited Guatemala, Harris told those who thought about making the journey north: "Do not come."
Of the illegal immigrants I asked on Monday night in Roma if they had heard Harris' message, through a translator, not a single person, kid or adult, said they heard Harris' stern warning.
It is easy to see why Harris did not visit the Rio Grande Valley: It is the reaping of the Biden administration's sowing of open border rhetoric and policies. In addition to the hundreds of people who flock to the Rio Grande Valley per day, border towns in Mexico such as Reynosa and Río Bravo are experiencing a surge in murders carried out by different factions of the Gulf Cartel as they fight for control of the area.
What I can say from my multiple trips to the Rio Grande Valley since March of this year is that nothing has changed. The pictures I took of large groups of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. in April look the same as the pictures I took in June. It is golden hour for people who want to avoid the normal process of coming to the U.S. and Harris missed out on seeing it firsthand.