US Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande city station on Saturday found two large groups of illegal immigrants entering the United States, in a possible sign of a deepening of the border crisis.
CBP agents responded for the first time to a report by a “large group” of illegal immigrants near Las Lomas, Texas – about five miles southeast of the city of Rio Grande, according to the US Customs Border and Protection.
The agents arrested 134 illegal immigrants – 128 of them identified as family members. The agents determined that the individuals were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.
FOX News exclusively obtained two photos showing a temporary external processing location for the US Border Patrol in Mission, TX, in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
A few hours later, RGC agents responded to another report of illegal immigrants crossing the border near La Grulla – about 25 kilometers southeast of Las Lomas. The agents reportedly found 113 illegal immigrants, including families and unaccompanied foreign children (UAC).
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Most of the individuals in the second group were also from Central America, but 17 were identified as Romanian citizens. Seven UACs were traveling among the group, said CBP.
Families of migrants and children climb the banks of the Rio Grande to the United States while smugglers on rafts prepare to return to Mexico in Penitas, Texas, USA, on March 5, 2021.
(Reuters)
A CBP official told Fox News that the individuals are still being prosecuted.
“Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to attempt these blatant attempts without regard to the lives that endanger the health of the citizens of our great nation,” said CBP in a statement. “United States Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to protect the nation and the community from these criminal elements.”
People surround a car that arrives carrying food donations at an impromptu camp for migrants seeking asylum in the United States at the border crossing on Friday, March 12, 2021, in Tijuana, Mexico.
(AP)
Groups of consecutive migrants emerge amid a recent influx of migrants on the southern border – something the Biden government refused to label a “crisis”.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the Biden administration recognizes “this is a big problem”, but she blamed former President Donald Trump.
“The last government has left us with a disassembled and impractical system and, like any other problem, we will do everything possible to resolve it,” she said.
Asked whether the Biden government has control over the unprecedented number of migrants arriving on the southern border of the United States, Psaki said “we certainly do.”
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Last Tuesday, Trump criticized the way President Biden is dealing with the border crisis, saying the country is being “destroyed” by the recent increase in illegal migrants on the border.
In a statement, the former commander-in-chief pointed to his victories in border policy as president, saying that under his administration the US-Mexico border was “in great shape” and was “stronger, safer and more protected than that never”.
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“We ended the capture and release process, ended asylum fraud and disabled smugglers, drug traffickers and human traffickers,” wrote the ex-president. “The Wall, despite the horrendous Democratic delays, would have easily been completed and is working magnificently.”
Jon Michael Raasch of Fox News contributed to this report.