Migrant facilities along the US border are filled to capacity with 18,500 people in detention at the four most overrun border crossings in Texas and Arizona.
Overnight thousands more migrants flooded the border, cutting through a section of border barrier near Lukeville, Arizona, and wading across the Rio Grande.
The processing center in the Del Rio, Texas sector — which includes Eagle Pass, a flashpoint during the crisis — has more than 5,200 immigrants in detention, putting it at 256 percent of its capacity, NewsNation reported, citing data from the US Customs and Border Patrol.
Shocking images from the camp taken by The Post show hundreds of migrants gathered in rows separated by orange barriers.
Many were wrapped in foil blankets issued by authorities to help keep them warm against the elements.
Elsewhere in Texas, the Rio Grande Valley sector has more than 4,800 migrants in detention, putting it over capacity, and El Paso has 4,300 – although facilities there have been expanded to handle the influx.
On Monday, CBP reached a record 12,600 immigrants found in 24 hours. Each month between August and October has seen more than 300,000 migrants try to cross into the US, according to government data, a trend expected to continue until the end of the year.
The border region of Tucson in Arizona is at 160 percent capacity with more than 4,200 in custody, according to NewsNation. Data was not immediately available for the San Diego sector in California, which has also recently been hit hard by a large influx of immigrants.
Migrants use foil blankets against the elements. Go Nakamura Local residents in Eagle Pass are worried about the influx of immigrants. Go Nakamura Nearly 13,000 people crossed the border in 24 hours on Monday. Go Nakamura Thousands of migrants try to rest while they wait to be processed by the US Border Patrol at a temporary transit center in Eagle Pass. Go Nakamura
Migrants are typically held in detention for several days while they are evaluated by Border Patrol agents and then either enter deportation proceedings or are deemed eligible to pursue an asylum claim and allowed into the US.
In Eagle Pass, migrants were seen crossing the river and turning themselves in to the Border Patrol for asylum on Wednesday.
NEW: Video courtesy of TX Congressman @RepTonyGonzales shows the inside of the Border Patrol’s tented “Firefly” processing center in Eagle Pass, TX this morning following a massive illegal crossing. He told me the hand at the end of the video was a DHS officer trying to block his view. pic.twitter.com/Yc3iIB8rds
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 20, 2023
US Representative Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) later posted a short video from inside one of the migrant tent facilities, showing hundreds of people gathered in a small space as border officials tried to organize and process them.
Meanwhile, local residents said they were worried about the impact of the flooding on their daily lives, including their safety.
Magali Urbina, who farms pecans along the Rio Grande, said a group of up to 1,300 people crossed the river onto his property before the National Guard escorted them to the processing area, Fox San Antonio reported.
“It’s not only going to affect us domestically, it’s going to affect the entire United States,” Urbina told the outlet about her concerns when new immigrants are deported.
A temporary processing center near the Rio Grande. Go Nakamura
“These people, the reality is they have nowhere to go, they don’t have a plan, they don’t have money, they don’t have permission to work legally. A lot of things will happen because you can already see them getting desperate,” he stressed.
Urbina’s concern is doubled by the fact that Border Patrol checkpoints in the area are closed, he added.
He and other residents are calling for federal action to help ensure both residents and immigrants stay safe.
The Department of Homeland Security has not released updated figures on the number of people deported from the US, saying only that it “removed or returned more than 300,000 individuals” between May and September this year.
International freight train traffic on two routes to Eagle Pass has been halted as CBP officers have been diverted to process newly arrived immigrants.
Operations on one of the two road bridges into the city have also been reduced for the same reason.
“Unfortunately, CBP is unable to support the operation due to the migrant crisis at our border. It is our full intention to continue operations in the hope that the migrant situation will be under control by the proposed date, unfortunately that is not the case,” authorities said in an update published in the Eagle Pass Business Journal.
Many processing centers have reached over 100 percent capacity. Go Nakamura “It will not only affect us locally, it will affect the entire United States,” one local resident said of the flooding. Go Nakamura
The issue remains severe outside of the Eagle Pass area. On Wednesday morning, Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin share videos on X Migrants huddle at the border wall in Lukeville, Arizona, part of the Tucson sector.
He said the recent practice of human smugglers carrying power tools and cutting the wall barrier to allow hundreds of migrants to cross continued.
New arrivals are coming from recalls, including India, Guinea, Liberia and beyond, Melugin said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/