Border Patrol agents are feeling overwhelmed with the surge of illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S., according to reports.
Human traffickers are taking advantage of the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border to transport large groups of migrants through the Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio sectors, knowing that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection doesn’t have enough manpower to inspect each delinquent crossing.
Since June 28, border agents have encountered a total of 675 migrants who have attempted to enter the country illegally.
“A large group is a group consisting of 100 subjects or more,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens said in a statement. “Currently, the Del Rio Sector is responsible for over 50 percent of all large group apprehension in the nation. With less infrastructure and personnel than larger Border Patrol sectors, this puts a tremendous strain on our communities and keeps our agents from doing what they signed up to do – patrolling our border and keeping this country safe.”
The U.S. has been seeing massive migrant numbers after Biden announced that he would be lifting “Title 42,” a controversial border policy implemented by former President Donald Trump back in March 2020 that allowed the U.S. Border Patrol to turn migrants away.
In response, several county judges have asked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to dedicate more resources toward addressing illegal immigrant activity at the U.S.-Mexico border amid what they said was lackluster support from the federal government.
“We want America to know that this is real,” Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan told reporters in Bracketville. “The Biden administration won’t do a thing about it. They could stop this thing this hour. They could stop it now. They don’t have the guts.”
Some officials said that the swarm of illegal immigrants has resulted in property damage, stolen vehicles, gun violence, and other issues resulting from migrants crossing into their counties, many of which are desolate and have sparse populations.
“In my community, we have less than 1,000 residents. The thousand residents everyday live in fear of the invasion,” said Dale Lynn Carruthers, the county judge for Terrell County. “We are doing the best we can with limited manpower. Terrell County has the least to offer… but we have a lot of border coverage.”
