Sunday, November 13, 2016
150 customs agents deployed to Texas border
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain an undocumented immigrant at the border in 2014.
Story highlights
- Apprehensions at the border are surging, Homeland Security chief says
- The agents are being sent to South Texas amid a surge in migrants
(CNN)US
Customs and Border Protection is sending 150 extra agents to the Rio
Grande Valley in South Texas as authorities report a surge in the number
of undocumented children and families trying to cross into the United
States from Mexico, the agency said Saturday.
In
October, 46,195 people were apprehended on the border, compared to
39,501 in September and 37,048 in August, Department of Homeland
Security Director Jeh Johnson said in a statement earlier this week.
"As
a result, there are currently about 41,000 individuals in our
immigration detention facilities -- typically, the number in immigration
detention fluctuates between 31,000 and 34,000," he said.
Undocumented teen describes trek to U.S. 02:52
The
extra agents are being assigned work in the immigrant processing
centers in McAllen and Weslaco, Customs and Border Protection said in a
news release. The move should free up local agents who are more familiar
with the region, the agency said.
The
extra agents are coming from the areas of Tucson, Arizona; San Diego;
and Del Rio, Texas. They are expected to arrive as early as Sunday and
will probably remain in South Texas at least two months, said Chris
Cabrera with the National Border Patrol Council.
That
part of Texas saw a surge of unaccompanied and undocumented children
and families the summer of 2014, many of them from Honduras, Guatemala
and other Central American nations.
Unaccompanied minors have been trekking to the United States in steadily increasing numbers since 2012, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.
Johnson
said Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking additional
detention space to hold single adults so they can be returned quickly to
their home countries.
"Those who
attempt to enter our country without authorization should know that,
consistent with our laws and our values, we must and we will send you
back," Johnson said. "Once again, I encourage migrants and their
families to pursue the various safe and legal paths available for those
in need of humanitarian protection in the United States."
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