The surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border is intensifying, with nearly 7,900 apprehensions per day last week, a notable increase from October’s average of 6,000 daily apprehensions, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. On Tuesday alone, over 10,500 migrants entered the U.S., with more than 4,000 in Texas’ Del Rio sector. The situation is overwhelming Border Patrol agents, leading to makeshift staging areas for migrants awaiting processing.
In Eagle Pass, Texas, thousands of migrants, including women and children, can be seen sitting in rows, with some navigating razor-sharp concertina wire to seek asylum. Despite the overwhelming numbers, they are not technically in federal Border Patrol custody until processing. Complicating matters, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law on Monday, allowing state troopers and sheriff’s deputies to charge and arrest migrants for illegal border crossings starting in March.
Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County, which encompasses Eagle Pass, expressed concerns about enforcing SB4, citing a lack of manpower and its impact on local security efforts. Civil rights groups, including the ACLU, filed a lawsuit against Texas on Tuesday, aiming to block SB4, arguing that immigration enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction.
The evolving migrant crisis has sparked ambivalence among law enforcement officials, evident in a disturbing video where a woman with a young child seeks help while attempting to cross the Rio Grande. Texas National Guard and state troopers nearby do not intervene, and she eventually returns safely to the Mexican side. The Texas National Guard stated that soldiers assessed the situation, found no signs of distress, and monitored the scene.
As the situation intensifies, the challenges at the border underscore the complex intersection of immigration policy, state laws, and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in southern border towns.