PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Coahuila — Several groups of migrants entered the water of the Rio Grande headed to Eagle Pass, Texas, despite repeated attempts to deter their access by Mexico’s National Guard soldiers. The migrants thwarted the soldiers’ attempts to capture them, ultimately entering the water and heading straight into the layers of concertina wire and cargo containers placed along the United States bank of the river.
As Breitbart Texas looked on from the Mexican bank of the Rio Grande on Friday, the migrants ultimately defeated the wire barrier and entered the United States.
The migrants, some carrying children, struggled with swift currents but managed to hang onto the infants and toddlers they were carrying. In all, several small groups of migrants, totaling nearly 100, managed to cross the river and breach several layers of concertina wire. The migrants used blankets and other debris strewn along the United States bank of the Rio Grande to shield themselves from the wire’s sharp edges. They pushed through successfully, entering the small border community of Eagle Pass.
Once across the wire, the migrants were met by Texas Army National Guard soldiers and a lone Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol trooper who guided the migrants to a nearby staging area staffed by the Border Patrol. There, the migrants were handed over to federal authorities for transport to a nearby Border Patrol processing facility.
As the migrant groups converged to scale the wire, several other groups unsuccessfully explored options to defeat the cargo containers lining the bank farther upriver. One group of migrants was deterred from entering the river by the Mexican National Guard soldiers once additional troops arrived to assist.
Despite law enforcement efforts in Mexico to reduce the number of migrants arriving at Piedras Negras aboard freight trains, hundreds of migrants are still arriving in the city daily at the city’s Central de Autobuses — blocks away from the Rio Grande.
On Friday, Breitbart Texas visited multiple crossing points in the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras and observed discarded CBP One applications and foreign identity documents from Colombia, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, and Ecuadorian nationals littering one of the busiest crossing points south of Piedras Negras.
The migrants leave behind the documents to bolster asylum claims in the United States as the documents offer proof some have been granted refuge in a third country prior to reaching the U.S./Mexico border.
The migrants are also leaving behind detailed maps provided by several international and Mexican humanitarian organizations that detail specific travel routes to the U.S./Mexico border from as far away as Panama. One flyer provided to the migrants from “Amigos del Tren,” or “Friends of the Train,” in English, provides the location of freight train routes through Mexico covered by Ferromex — the major freight train company in Mexico.
In addition to travel routes, the maps and flyers from Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations, and the International Red Cross also provide addresses and phone numbers for migrant shelters across Mexico and Central America. The flyers offer tips to stay safe and warn of hazards along the migration routes to the U.S./Mexico border.
According to the Border Patrol, during the last full week of October, more than 8,000 migrants were apprehended in the Del Rio Sector. Most migrant apprehensions in the sector occur in and around Eagle Pass. More than 1,000 migrants managed to elude apprehension during the same time frame. Seven migrant deaths were recorded during this period as well. The agency also apprehended eighteen large migrant groups, numbering more than 100 strong.
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 Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
