Border Patrol agents denounced that there is a massive release of illegal immigrants into the national territory taking place. This is due to the increase in number of encounters, which reached 15,000 per day during December, which has led to the saturation of the reception and holding centers in neighboring states. In addition, there is also an increasing number of illegals arriving in the company of NGOs, who are then being dropped off at gas stations without notifying the relative agents, as a result, they cannot be traced.
During a meeting with other law enforcement agents in Weslaco, Texas, several Border Patrol officers outlined the situation and what they anticipate when Title 42 expires. Gloria Chavez, the head of the patrol in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) area, stated that her agents detained an average of 15,000 immigrants per day, and that some sectors are already at 150% of their capacity. Far from improving, Chavez notes, that "an increase in flow and conditional release is expected."
15,000 daily encounters with illegals in December
Due to the larger facilities in this sector, Chavez explained that they have received around 20 flights and eight busloads of immigrants each week from Yuma (Arizona), El Paso and Del Rio (Texas). This saturation of facilities, common in all border states, means that "more and more people are being processed for release because we simply cannot sustain it," officials said.
According to the testimony of these agents, "everything has changed in the last two years. Over the past two years the entire landscape has changed, not only with the entries but the demographics and types of people who are exploiting the immigration process." One of the most important changes is that single men of military age now account for 70% of illegal entries, and encounters with immigrants carrying weapons are becoming increasingly frequent. This is important, since for security purposes, they are more difficult to control. The proof is in the data which shows, that during 2022 the number of officers assaulted rose to 17, "the highest number we have ever seen," said one of the officers.
Record number of agents assaulted by illegal aliens
In addition, migration flows are also changing. With the Biden Administration's abandonment of the southern border, many of the traditional routes of entry into the country now converge on the same area. The agents revealed that there are currently more Cubans and Nicaraguans than Mexicans in the detention centers for illegal aliens. The reason is that they have realized that they will be deported as soon as they set foot in Florida, so now, the flights arrive in Mexico and then they cross the border to seek asylum.
These facilities on the part of the federal administration encourage human traffickers. In fact, the agents denounced that "there are cities in Mexico where people say they go to look for smugglers who will charge them less, to take them to the other side of the Rio Grande." As a result, "Texas has the largest traffic of gotaways." Weapons smuggling and drug trafficking have also increased, with record inflows of fentanyl and liquid methamphetamine.
Lack of coordination with NGOs
To complete the picture, NGOs are dropping off irregulars at gas stations without the agents' knowledge. Therefore, "there needs to be better coordination by NGOs with the Border Patrol so that they can tell us where they are being dropped off." Once released in the United States, there is no tracking mechanism to know where they are.
