Border Patrol agents are no longer patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border as record numbers of migrants pour into America, in what's being called an “absolute collapse” of security.
Over the past week, the number of migrants entering the U.S. illegally through Eagle Pass and then seeking asylum — which legally forces Border Patrol to give them paperwork allowing them to remain in the U.S. while their asylum case is processed — has risen.
But starting Monday, the numbers exploded.
In the past 24 hours, 14,000 migrants rushed to the popular migrant crossing, where only 30,000 Texans live.
US Congressman Tony Gonzales tweeted a video depicts a sea of migrants waiting under a bridge in Eagle Pass, the community he represents, awaiting processing by U.S. Border Patrol.
“Over 14,000 people crossed ILLEGALLY yesterday and over 26,000 are already in custody – the HIGHEST in American history,” the Republican wrote online.
“Christmas Day will be WORSE. President Biden has failed border communities like mine.”
Thousands of migrants wrapped in silver thermal blankets, many hoping to seek asylum in the US, have gathered under a bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, waiting for their chance to surrender to US Border Patrol.
BREAKING: This morning in my district in Eagle Pass.
These are historical figures. I am in contact with local officials and law enforcement who all say this situation is SERIOUS. https://t.co/e752kgSgZ1
— Rep. Tony Gonzales (@RepTonyGonzales) December 19, 2023
BREAKING: This morning in my district in Eagle Pass.
Mothers with children belong to the large group of asylum seekers. Here a mother cradles her child in the cold
The startling sight of baby food in Eagle Pass, Texas, where hundreds of children are among migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol in freezing temperatures
Representative Gonzales described the situation as “dire” as international bridges in the city have been closed, costing locals $15,000 a day.
About 60 percent of Eagle Pass's revenue comes from tolls collected at international bridge crossings, officials told DailyMail.com.
Eagle Pass has only 58 uniformed police officers and many of them also assist the Border Patrol in dealing with the crowds.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a law Monday evening allowing local police to arrest migrants. However, the law will not come into effect until next year.
Leaders in Democratic El Paso have already filed a lawsuit to prevent the controversial SB4 from taking effect.
Two of the international bridges in Eagle Pass are closed due to the migrant crisis, costing the Texas city $15,000 a day.
All Border Patrol agents in the Eagle Pass area have now been reassigned to the security and humanitarian crisis unfolding under one of the city's bridges
Border Patrol agents from New York State are being transferred to Eagle Pass to help deal with the overwhelming number of migrants arriving in the Texas city.
Mayor Rolando Salinas said he has begged the federal government for help.
“We have silence from the president, silence from the vice president, silence from a lot of politicians who don't think this is a real problem,” Salina said in a speech. Facebook post.
“We really need Congress to act now. “This is a disaster situation for the City of Eagle Pass.”
However, the ripple effects of this will extend to the rest of the state and even other parts of the country.
Border Patrol agents normally stationed at checkpoints along the route into the U.S. have also been redirected to assist in Eagle Pass.
“It's an absolute collapse of the border,” said Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, the top lawyer in neighboring Terrell County.
That leaves no one to stop drugs and migrants from being smuggled into the US.
“You increase the number of escapes, you increase the opportunity for cartels to successfully bring in drugs,” the sheriff, a retired border agent, explained.
Map of U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints along the southern border, according to the Government Accountability Office
“It's a wide open border. Come as you please.”
Cleveland added that it is no coincidence that Eagle Pass and another migrant hotspot, Lukeville, Arizona, are seeing record increases at the same time.
“They'll engage in diversion in one part of the border just to get troops in that direction, and then they can get people or drugs in somewhere else,” he stated.
“Cartels shape it the way they want, for their benefit.”
In Eagle Pass, the migrant crisis is disrupting the lives of people who commute to and from Mexico every day, turning commutes between the two countries that used to take less than 10 minutes into 11-hour waits due to international bridge closures.
“There are people working on both sides of the border, and right now everything is at a standstill,” Pepe Aranda, who lives in Eagle Pass, told DailyMail.com.
'It's terrible, especially during the Christmas holidays.'
Days ago, US Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the Border Patrol, announced it would close rail lines into the US at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas – to deal with the influx of migrants.
Aranda, who served as mayor of the city, says the closure will devastate local businesses such as Model beer, which is produced in Mexico just south of Eagle Pass.
“About 80% of production is transported by rail,” notes Aranda. 'It's all at a standstill here. We ran 100 train cars a day in beer alone. Now they have to ship it by truck and use other ports.”
With so many livelihoods at stake and the migrant problem spiraling out of control in their front yards, there will be a price to pay at the ballot box, the Democrat said.
“The feeling in Eagle Pass: If there were an election for president today or tomorrow — this is a heavily Democratic area — Biden would lose.”
