(Trends Wide) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Thursday that he ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to close six points of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border amid a surge in migrants.
The Republican called the crisis at the border serious and said “agents are overwhelmed by chaos.”
“The total negligence of the Biden Administration to do its job and secure the border is appalling. I have directed the Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to increase personnel and vehicles to close six points of entry along the southern border to stop these caravans from invading our state, “Abbott said in a statement.
“The crisis at the border is so severe that US Customs and Border Protection is requesting our help as their agents are overwhelmed by chaos. Unlike President Biden, the state of Texas remains committed to security. of our border and the protection of Americans “
Thousands waiting in Del Rio
Earlier in the day, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Victor Escalon, said that all entry points to Del Rio, Texas, will be closed due to the overwhelming number of migrants there.
“Six, seven days ago, Del Rio saw 400 migrants sitting under the bridge, the (entry point) in downtown Del Rio … there are about 6,000 sitting there right now and more are coming,” Escalon said.
“Before coming here today, my last instructions were ‘we’re going to close all entry points into Del Rio,'” he said, after offering an update on Operation Lone Star.
Trends Wide previously reported that Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano said there were more than 8,500 migrants under the Del Rio International Bridge waiting to be processed.
According to the United States Customs and Border Protection website, the “Del Rio Sector is responsible for detecting and preventing the smuggling and illegal entry of undocumented immigrants into the United States along 394 of the Rio Grande and Lake Amistad that form the border between the United States and Mexico. The area covers 142,612 square kilometers of Texas and covers 482 kilometers in Texas from the border between the United States and Mexico. “
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
