Skip to main content

Immigration

Pregnant woman goes into labor at the border as National Guards face off migrants 

A pregnant woman went into labor on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas as National Guard troops faced off with thousands of migrants attempting to cross into the United States

December 22, 2022 8:07am

Updated: December 22, 2022 8:07am

A pregnant woman went into labor on the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas as National Guard troops faced off with thousands of migrants attempting to cross into the United States. 

A large crowd of undocumented migrants on the banks of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas faced off with heavily armed National Guard troops and armored vehicles that tried to prevent their crossing from Mexico into the U.S. 

One of the migrants in the crowd unexpectedly went into labor on the riverbank. Border Patrol agents rushed to help the mom-to-be, according to First Sgt. Suzanne Ringle, a spokesperson for the National Guard forces. 

It is not immediately clear what happened to the mother and the baby. 

The migrants at the border were expecting to be allowed into the country on Wednesday, after the lifting of Title 42, a Trump-era policy that allowed border agents to quickly expel migrants without hearing their asylum cases. 

However, a last-minute order was issued to temporarily keep the policy in place, preventing the migrants' entry into the U.S.

On Saturday, El Paso declared a state of emergency after thousands of migrants seeking asylum entered the city. Last week alone, Border Patrol agents intercepted around 2,400 migrants a day in the El Paso sector. 

Additionally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott deployed 400 Texas National Guard troops to El Paso on Monday.

“Soldiers will assist in deterring illegal migrants crossing from Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, into the United States,” according to a tweet from the Texas Military Department. 

The troops were stationed along the border wall in camouflage uniforms and helmets, armed with rifles to prevent any undocumented migrants from crossing the border.