U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reporting a record-breaking number of border crossings, with at least 12,600 migrants breaking into the country on Monday alone. The crisis is particularly acute in Eagle Pass, Texas, where an estimated 4,000 migrants broke through.
Border officials and reporters with long experience of the frontier said they have “never seen anything like this,” sharing footage of huge crowds of migrants awaiting processing, as hundreds more continued to wade across the Rio Grande.
BREAKING: Video from a contact on the ground in Eagle Pass, TX right now shows a mass of thousands of migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol after they crossed illegally today. I’ve spent hundreds of days there over the last 2+ years and I’ve never seen it like this. pic.twitter.com/JPNYY7sPxI
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 19, 2023
The crisis is so bad the CBP has taken the extraordinary step of shutting two major railway crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso, another migrant hotspot, as many illegals have been riding railway cars to the border.
The move could deliver a significant blow to Joe Biden’s faltering economy, with Union Pacific complaining that “45 percent of all rail cars moving to and from Mexico cross through El Paso and Eagle Pass” and begging the government to reopen the crossings.
Here’s another shot from overnight in Eagle Pass where thousands of unauthorized immigrants sat by the border waiting to be bused to the processing tent, which has room inside for 1,000 but has 3,000 on site… thus the delay moving people out of here #BorderCrisis @dcexaminer pic.twitter.com/mEefZ045d7
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) December 19, 2023
The surge comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new law making it a state crime to cross the border illegally, stating President Biden has dismantled the strong immigration policies implemented by Donald Trump and left Texas to “fend for itself”.
Whether or not the new law can be effectively implemented and serve as a deterrent remains to be seen, as Democrat-led El Paso County, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Texas Civil Rights Project have already sued to try and overturn it.
🚨HAPPENING NOW +500 MIGRANTS ARE CROSSING ILLEGALLY INTO EAGLE PASS – The flow of migrants crossing illegally into showing no signs of slowing with thousands more on the way. Currents in the river are very strong on this area of the Rio Grande @NewsNation pic.twitter.com/AjvWsVnKgm
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) December 20, 2023
Texas Congressman Tony Gonzalez estimated an even higher number of total crossings than the CBP on Tuesday morning, saying over 14,000 migrants had crossed the border illegally – “the HIGHEST in U.S. history.”
He predicted Christmas Day will be even worse, lamenting: “President Biden has abandoned border communities like mine.”
Tuesday morning in Eagle Pass. 14,000+ crossed ILLEGALLY yesterday & 26,000+ already in custody – the HIGHEST in US history. Christmas Day will be WORSE. President Biden has abandoned border communities like mine. pic.twitter.com/plEEmk3oJh
— Tony Gonzales (@TonyGonzales4TX) December 19, 2023
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is reporting a record-breaking number of border crossings, with at least 12,600 migrants breaking into the country on Monday alone. The crisis is particularly acute in Eagle Pass, Texas, where an estimated 4,000 migrants broke through.
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