Illegal migrants rush across U.S. border before President-elect Donald Trump takes office

More than 100 migrants crossed the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, just two hours after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election on a promise to end illegal immigration.

The migrants, who mostly came from Central and South America, along with two others from Africa, arrived in the United States after crossing the Rio Grande River. There were a dozen unaccompanied children in the group, including two younger brothers.

After crossing, the group was intercepted by border agents and transported on a bus for processing.

Border agents gave blankets to the children in the caravan to keep them safe. Minors who arrive alone at the border are exempt from current restrictions on seeking asylum after the Biden administration issued the order earlier this year.

According to Border Patrol sources, the migrants are attempting to cross into the United States before Trump takes office and enacts new policies for those entering the country illegally.

During the election campaign, Trump talked about taking swift action to secure the southern border and carry out a mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants.

In his victory speech early Wednesday, Trump promised to “fix” and “seal” U.S. borders, forcing people to immigrate to the country legally.

Meanwhile, a new caravan of 3,000 migrants formed on the southern border and left the city of Tapachula, in southern Mexico, on Tuesday.

Federal data indicates that during the Biden administration there were more than 10 million interceptions involving migrants. The highest number of crossings in a single fiscal year occurred between October 2021 and September 2022, when more than 2.2 million migrants crossed illegally.