Texas border agents encounter 1,100 migrants in 24 hours

Texas Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) sector on Friday said that they encountered an unprecedented number of undocumented migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border near a small town in just 24 hours. 

Between Thursday and Friday, Border Patrol agents encountered more than 1,100 undocumented migrants near the town of La Grulla, Texas, said RGV Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez in a tweet. 

“Border Patrol Agents from #RGC Station encountered over 1.1K migrants in 24 hours near La Grulla, TX. Amazing work addressing medical emergencies, transportation, and field intake. Way to go RGC!” the tweet reads. 

La Grulla is a small Texas town near the Mexico border with a population of less than 2,000 individuals. It is where Texas Gov. Greg Abbott built its first state-funded segment of the border wall. 

Last week’s encounters come as arrests in the U.S.-Mexico border surged in July by more than 30% compared to the previous month, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by the Washington Post. 

According to the data, border agents arrested more than 130,000 individuals along the border in July, compared to 99,545 in June. In addition to those apprehended, more than 50,000 migrants were allowed to cross into the country to seek asylum throughout July.

Despite the increase in apprehensions, CBP spokesperson Erin Waters said that undocumented crossings remain much lower than in the months before May, when the Biden administration ended the pandemic-era policy Title 42, which allowed border officials to expel migrants in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

“Unlawful border crossings have gone down since our border enforcement plan went into effect and remain well below the levels seen while Title 42 was in effect,” Waters said in a statement.

“We remain vigilant and expect to see fluctuations, knowing that smugglers continue to use disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals.”