US Border Patrol Addresses Projected Surge Of Migrants At Mexico Border

Along the US-Mexico border near Mission, Texas, law enforcement is working around the clock to control a massive surge of migrants.

Armed with long guns, both along the Rio Grande and surrounding communities, border patrol agents and the Texas Department of Public Safety look for people trying to cross into the US illegally.

 News on 6 made a trip to the border this week to follow along as Governor Kevin Stitt toured the area.

Stitt and other Republican politicians have been critical of the Biden administration's handling of the southern border. In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Haitians who came through Central and South America camped under a bridge in Del Rio, about 350 miles northwest of Mission. Brandon Judd with the Border Patrol Council says in this area, they expect about 60,000 more people who just came through Peru.

"We are not prepared to handle anything,” said Judd. “We're not prepared to handle the numbers coming up."

Another issue is the cartel. Judd says right now, the cartel is making $400 million per month smuggling people over the border, and that does not include what they make smuggling drugs. Drugs that the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics says end up in states like Oklahoma. 

While Republicans have been critical of the handling of the border, some Democrats are calling for an end to Title 42 during the crisis.

Title 42 is a Trump-era policy that allows the US to immediately expel migrants without asylum proceedings during the pandemic.