A group of migrants who have crossed into the US from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas are met by a Border Patrol Agent.Photo: SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP / Getty Images
The city of Eagle Pass has declared an emergency as hundreds of illegal immigrants pour across the Mexico border. Congressman Tony Gonzales says his border district does not the resources to keep up. The Texas Republican says, in El Paso, the feds have more than 6,000 illegal immigrants in custody. More keep coming, so they're releasing one-thousand people a day onto the streets. Most are from Venezuela and traveled through Mexico on a train.
Meanwhile, Mexico's biggest freight train company says it will stop sending trains toward the U.S. border in a move to keep migrants from hitching rides. Ferromex said on Tuesday that it's temporarily halting service on 60 different trains that travel toward the border after recent deaths and injuries to migrants. Ferromex trains serve northern Mexican cities, including those across the border from El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas; Nogales, Arizona; and Calexico, California. Ferromex said a single train might carry a thousand hitchhikers.
US Customs and Border Protection has announced it will shutdown Eagle Pass Bridge 1 for all vehicles until further notice. All vehicles must use Bridge 2 to cross to Mexico and/or the United States. The closure is due to the significant influx of migrants in the region. Pedestrian service will remain open under normal hours of operation.
CBP issued the following statement:
“Beginning this afternoon, CBP’s Office of Field Operations will temporarily suspend vehicle processing operations at Bridge 1 and the international railway crossing bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody. In response to this influx in encounters, we will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants. We will maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation.”
Photo: City of Eagle Pass, Texas