Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and members of the Texas Army National Guard on Thursday reportedly surrounded the area around the Rio Grande Valley crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas, as a means of deterring migrant crossings at this treacherous spot, according to a Breitbart News report.
The apparent show of force, which reportedly involved officers on foot and those patrolling the scene via boat, had a temporary effect on dissuading migrants from crossing into the U.S.
In its report, Breitbart Texas likened the troopers standing side by side near the Eagle Pass river crossing as a "steel curtain" border wall, working under the strategic initiatives of Operation Lone Star.
Consequently, some migrant groups reportedly surrendered to Border Patrol agents, while others "moved down the river" in search of other unlawful access points.
According to the Wilson County News, law enforcement officials attempted a similar "steel curtain" alignment last year.
In December, the publication reported of "a row of some 20 giant shipping containers, interspersed with armored vehicles, now form a front line on the riverbank. Behind them ... a phalanx of Texas state troopers as a second line of defense."
Operation Lone Star, which was launched in March 2021, has empowered Texas law enforcement authorities and Texas Army National Guard soldiers to apprehend more than 292,700 migrants.
For fiscal 2021-22, more than 2 million migrants have attempted to cross the southern border.
On June 28, Del Rio Sector border agents reportedly encountered three sizable groups over a six-hour period, totaling 675 migrants.
The people hailed from Mexico as well as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iran, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela.
Newsmax recently chronicled how Border Patrol agents have been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of illegal crossings at two specific points — the Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio sectors.
According to July-centric information obtained from Border Patrol officials and published through Breitbart, human traffickers used the chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border to funnel large groups of migrants through the Rio Grande Valley and Del Rio sectors, knowing the Border Patrol wouldn't have enough agents to thoroughly vet each unlawful crossing.
Also, last Sunday, Breitbart News reported that more than 2,000 migrants were apprehended in the Del Rio/Eagle Pass sector. The vast majority were subsequently released to pursue asylum claims.
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