The massive influx of migrants that saw thousands of people overwhelm a small Texas border town has slowed to a trickle, with just 800 people crossing the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass on Friday, DailyMail.com reported.
Exclusive footage from DailyMail.com shows small family groups making the perilous crossing from Piedras Negras on the Mexican side – with a Venezuelan mother seen sobbing as she waded through waist-deep water only to be confronted with piled barbed wire on the US side of the Mexican coast. river.
Most groups also included young children; the majority carried on the shoulders of their parents and still made the crossing despite the tragic drowning of a four-year-old boy earlier this week.
When asked if he had a busy day on Friday, a Border Patrol agent said: “It’s not as busy as before, but it could be later.”
The massive influx of migrants that saw thousands of people overwhelm a small Texas border town has slowed to a trickle, with just 800 people crossing the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass on Friday.
The thicket of barbed wire was ordered by Texas Governor Greg Abbot, who has also deployed a section of spike buoys in the same part of the Rio Grande.
The thicket of barbed wire was ordered by Texas Governor Greg Abbot, who has also deployed a section of spike buoys in the same part of the Rio Grande.
On Wednesday, he accused President Biden of ordering holes to be cut in the wire before ordering local officials to replace and double it.
Despite Abbot’s instructions, the wire was not enough to deter the migrants, with DailyMail.com seeing several groups find a way under it using sticks to hold it up.
Hats, sweatshirts and t-shirts could all be seen stuck in the wire – persistent evidence of the more than 7,500 people who clambered through it this week alone.
Most have now moved on with no sign of the large group that lined up under the Camarillo Real International Bridge earlier this week.
Mexican authorities have also stepped up patrols with the Guardia Civil – part of the Mexican National Guard – and the Policia Especiales, a federal police unit, parked across the street.
Still, Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said he expects future waves of migrants and sees no end to the crisis.
He said, ‘We’re going to have more waves. This has been going on for two years now and it’s getting worse.’
Last month, Border Patrol figures for the Rio Grande Valley sector — which includes Eagle Pass — showed 46,536 migrants had been apprehended in the area.
Only the Tucson sector – which includes favored border crossings such as Yuma and the remote desert areas around Nogales – recorded a higher number.
Exclusive footage from DailyMail.com shows small family groups making the perilous crossing from Piedras Negras on the Mexican side – with a Venezuelan mother seen sobbing as she wades through waist-deep water
Last month, Border Patrol figures for the Rio Grande Valley sector – which includes Eagle Pass (pictured) – showed that 46,536 migrants had been apprehended in the area.
The vast majority came from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, but in Eagle Pass almost all migrants are Venezuelan.
All the groups DailyMail.com spoke to said they were from the beleaguered South American country that has been ravaged by political instability and rampant inflation in recent years.
Many smiled broadly and pumped the air as they were led away — drawn to the border by a recent decision by the Biden administration that granted them temporary protected status in the U.S. and gave them the chance to work.
Border expert Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies told DailyMail.com that part of the draw to the area is due to its relative safety compared to other border towns.
He said: “Eagle Pass is an easy place to get to from further south by freight rail, freight train. So of course it’s a place where people go.
“And then there’s also been a lot of success for families, immigrant families, to get into the country if they can get past the Texans.
“The Texans are kind of a problem for them, but they’re finding that they can still get to the Border Patrol pretty easily.
“Once they reach the Border Patrol, they’ll let them into the country in a day or two.”
Bensman added, “Piedras Negras is not a very violent city. The cartel there is the state police, so they keep the violence to a minimum.
On Wednesday, he accused President Biden of ordering holes to be cut in the wire before ordering local officials to replace and double it. The photo shows migrants trying to find a way through the thick wire on Friday
Migrants marched by border patrol to be processed as they entered the US at Eagle Pass on the US-Mexico border, which was much calmer on Friday
“They don’t kill or rape and don’t charge much (over the line). Usually they don’t ask for money. Or if they do, they don’t ask for much.
“It’s affordable, safe and easy to get to.”
Of the Venezuelans who make up the bulk of the arrivals, he said: “They are using any form of travel, any route.
“They do it because, not so much because of work permits, although I think they’ll probably get those later, but because everyone they know is allowed in and it’s just not much more complicated than that.”
Most of the migrants who arrived earlier this week have now been funneled through NGOs such as local shelter Mission: Border Hope and helped to leave the area – on buses to destinations as diverse as New York, San Antonio and Los Angeles.
But more are expected to arrive when Mexican freight trains – temporarily halted and known as ‘The Beast’ by those hitching a ride on the roof – resume their journey after being stopped at the border of the northern Mexican state of Coahuila earlier this week .
A local source told DailyMail.com that Mexican authorities are currently ordering migrants off trains at Coahuila’s border with Zacatecas and banning them from taking buses north, although they are allowing them to walk.
But normal service is expected to resume soon, with Bensman saying he expects the border crisis to continue for the foreseeable future.
Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said he expects future waves of migrants and sees no end to the crisis
Most of the migrants who arrived earlier this week have now been routed through NGOs such as the local reception mission
He said: ‘The border has entered a new and terrible phase. The border crisis has entered a new and terrible phase that will become the norm from now on, as the government has now announced to the entire world that it will not apply harsh consequences to anyone.
“And remember, in May and June they told the world we were going to implement harsh consequences.
“But when they didn’t apply the harsh consequences, word got around and now everyone around the world is coming as fast as they can before the Americans can come to their senses, because this is just crazy good news for them.
‘No one can even believe this is happening. The Americans just let everyone in like never before.
“They’re coming straight into America, and no one’s really trying to stop them. Except the Texans.”