Officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety acknowledged the deployment of more state troopers and National Guard forces to the Rio Grande. Over the last two weeks, more than 24,000 Venezuelan migrants have crossed the border.
On Saturday, Breitbart Texas spotted a significant number of DPS Highway Patrol cars and National Guard trucks moving to the banks of the Rio Grande near Brownsville. Governor Greg Abbott dispatched the special reaction team to the border, where roughly 2,000 Venezuelan migrants cross daily from Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez told Breitbart Texas on Saturday evening that state troopers and National Guard personnel are being deployed along the river to prevent migrants from attempting to cross between ports of entry.
A video obtained by Breitbart Texas depicts a huge group of migrants ready to cross the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico and Texas. The migrants are trying to cross the river on a pool float, which looks to be highly unstable in the fast-moving currents. As the migrants tried to enter the water, the float almost tipped over multiple times, according to Olivarez.
“We are mobilizing extra State Troopers and the National Guard to Brownsville in order to discourage illegal entries between each of the ports of entry,” Olivarez informed Breitbart Texas. He also stated that the units will use razor-wire barricades to try and prevent the crossings. “The goal is to redirect the people who are crossing the Rio Grande towards the port of entry,” he said.
According to Olivarez, thunderstorm activity throughout the weekend enhanced the currents in the area. BORSTAR agents on standby for search and rescue efforts advised Olivarez that the water in the center of the Rio Grande is 14 to 20 feet deep in this section of the river.
DPS soldiers scream across the river to the migrants, encouraging them to avoid the perilous river crossing and instead go to one of the normal ports of entry to file an asylum claim and enter the United States.
According to Olivarez, they noticed Mexican immigration authorities seeking to dissuade border crossings as well. This group of migrants eventually withdrew and didn’t cross the Rio Grande.
According to Olivarez, Rio Grande Valley agents combined with DPS troopers along with Texas Military Department soldiers apprehended 20,865 migrants over a 12-day stretch that ended on Friday, April 27. By Saturday night, over 2,000 more migrants had crossed the river. The majority of these Venezuelan migrants arrive in Brownsville, Texas after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico.
The present influx of Venezuelan migrants looks to have virtually no end in sight and is projected to grow in the coming weeks until Title 42 expires on May 11.
