EAGLE PASS, Texas — It was over two years when tens of thousands of Haitians entered Del Rio nearly all at once, causing an acute humanitarian crisis even by the border crisis' standards. Now a town an hour to the south of Del Rio is once again back in the spotlight due to the thousands of illegal immigrants crossing into the area within a short amount of time.
While Eagle Pass has seen its fair share of the border crisis, this week has proved especially challenging for the small town because the extra space that was built to absorb the influx has already reached capacity. There is some concern if people keep coming and are kept in immigration facilities for long periods of time, then an international bridge could once again be the site of a makeshift camp.
Early Thursday morning proved to be the same as illegal immigrants, mainly from Venezuela and Central America, bypassed the razor wire and made it onto U.S. soil. They were directed to an international bridge, which has become the first area to process the new arrivals.
🚨: On the ground in Eagle Pass, TX and this large group of people, mostly from Venezuela, illegally crossed into the U.S. at 5:00 AM.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 21, 2023
As they were making their way towards Border Patrol for processing, another large group in the hundreds was crossing the river. pic.twitter.com/gTgUxyDmIj
A sure sign of to show how busy a sector is when people cross other than early mornings and late evenings. In Eagle Pass, large groups of people waded into Rio Grande long after the sun had risen. Boats from different law enforcement agencies were close by but they were mainly focused on preventing people from drowning, not simply deterring them with their presence. In one group, some people were taken away by the Rio Grande's strong current, but did not drown and made it onto the banks further down. As soon as one group had made it onto the U.S. side of the river, another group would show up on the Mexican side.
HAPPENING NOW: A large group of illegal immigrants are wading through the Rio Grande to get to Eagle Pass. pic.twitter.com/Fle6zf9qJ4
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 21, 2023
Another large group is now crossing the Rio Grande as a Border Patrol boat watches. More illegal immigrants continue to show up on the Mexican side of the the river. pic.twitter.com/iS4myDmFTj
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 21, 2023
Another body was just pulled from the Rio Grande here in Eagle Pass this morning. Middle aged male.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 21, 2023
3-year-old boy drowned here yesterday.
10-year-old boy drowned here last week.
Every time we come here, there are multiple drownings, for 2+ years now.
Video courtesy: @TxDPS pic.twitter.com/3PPlemNYuB
"From [September] 1st through 20th the Biden Admin ordered the release of more than 100,000 illegal border crashers-enough to double the population of cities like Yuma, AZ," the National Border Patrol Council posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Think about what Biden is doing to this country with his out-of-control border policies. How many millions more?"
