EAGLE PASS, Texas — Border Patrol agents interdicted a large group of migrants shortly after they waded across the shallow Rio Grande 12 miles north of Eagle Pass on Friday. The large group of 260 migrants crossed into the United States just before daybreak.
Among the large migrant group were Iranian, Egyptian, Angolan, and Bolivian citizens. A source within Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says that multi-national groups of migrants are becoming the norm in the small Texas border city.
According to the source, not authorized to speak to the media, many within the group, including four Egyptian and two Iranian nationals, will ultimately be released into the United States to pursue asylum claims due to difficulties returning them to their home countries. Although a significant surge in border crossings anticipated after President-elect Trump’s recent victory has not materialized, the source says there has been an uptick, and migrant group sizes are growing.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the surge is being prevented by law enforcement authorities in Mexico, who are still preventing thousands of migrants from using the country’s freight train system known as “La Bestia” or “The Beast” to reach the United States. The source says if that changes, Americans should expect a return to days when seven to ten thousand migrants or more crossed into the United States daily.
The source says Special Interest Alien crossings in the Eagle Pass was once a rarity. Violence in Sinaloa according to the source is one reason migrants from special interest countries may be choosing to enter the United States in Texas. Regardless, the trend is concerning the source told Breitbart Texas.
According to a 2019 DHS fact sheet, the term “Special Interest Alien” is defined as follows:
Generally, an SIA is a non-U.S. person who, based on an analysis of travel patterns, potentially poses a national security risk to the United States or its interests. Often such individuals or groups are employing travel patterns known or evaluated to possibly have a nexus to terrorism. DHS analysis includes an examination of travel patterns, points of origin, and/or travel segments that are tied to current assessments of national and international threat environments.
This does not mean that all SIAs are “terrorists,” but rather that the travel and behavior of such individuals indicates a possible nexus to nefarious activity (including terrorism) and, at a minimum, provides indicators that necessitate heightened screening and further investigation. The term SIA does not indicate any specific derogatory information about the individual – and DHS has never indicated that the SIA designation means more than that.
As reported by Breitbart, Texas, authorities have seen an uptick in large migrant group crossings into Eagle Pass after a significant slowdown due to increased election year enforcement efforts in Mexico that significantly slowed the flow of migrants arriving at the United States border. During the first two weeks of November, the Del Rio Sector reported the arrest of nearly 4,000 migrants, most of whom crossed into Eagle Pass.
The pace of migrant entries within the sector, according to the source, is significantly lower than that experienced in November 2023, when more than 40,000 migrants were apprehended within the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector. “All we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the slight increases don’t lead to an all-out border rush in the lead-up to the inauguration in January,” the source added.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
