A group of about 50 “undocumented individuals” tried to storm a port of entry at the U.S. border with Mexico only to be pushed back by Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) agents using tear gas and pepper spray.
The attempted incursion occurred at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge about 4:00 a.m. on Saturday. Border Patrol agents say the illegals tried to rush across the bridge in 3 waves.
“Ignoring commands to stop, the group suddenly rushed the temporary barricades, bent metal poles and disabled the concertina wire affixed to the barrier,” the official said.
CBP officers, Border Patrol agents, Pharr police and members of the Texas Department of Public Safety were called upon to prevent the group’s entry, according to the official.
“Several males in the group disregarded commands to stop and physically pushed through the barriers,” the official said. “When confronted by CBP officers, the combative individuals began assaulting the officers by punching, kicking, and attempting to grab the officers’ protective devices.”
Two individuals were charged with interference and federal charges are pending against 14 others who were apprehended, the official said, adding that Mexican officials removed the remaining individuals from the bridge.
We’re going to be seeing more of this in the near future. As Trump tightens control of the border, illegals will become more desperate. The president has already clamped down on potential asylum seekers by forcing them to remain in Mexico and Guatemala while they await a court hearing to determine their status. This has dramatically reduced the number of migrants showing up at the U.S. border looking for asylum.
It appears that the policy of forcing migrants to remain outside of the country instead of being briefly detained and released into the U.S. has been a success. But that policy is being challenged in court and might be struck down at any time.
Since January, the policy has been implemented at several border cities including San Diego and El Paso, Texas.
At least 18,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico under the policy, according to Mexico’s National Migration Institute.
The U.S. is trying to curtail the large flow of Central American migrants passing through Mexico to seek asylum under American law.
The busiest corridor for unauthorized border crossings is the Rio Grande Valley, at Texas’ southernmost point. Other cities in the region were not immediately included in the expansion.
At the very least, Trump’s policies have eased the humanitarian crisis at the border by discouraging people from coming. Of course, the open borders crowd don’t care about that. They only cared about the crush at the border as a political club with which they could hammer Trump.
The numbers show the wave of migrants easing somewhat:
But the border incident on Saturday shows the crisis is far from over.
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