Border agents on the southern border of the US are unable to cope with the influx of migrants. Customs and Border Protection agents are being sent here from all over the country, but the shortage of personnel is very acute, reports the New York Post. Thus, the number of migrants in the town of Eagle Pass in south Texas outnumbers border guards by a ratio of 200 to 1.
Border guards on the southern border of the United States are struggling to cope with the influx of migrants. Customs and Border Protection officers are being sent here from all over the country, but the shortage of personnel is very acute, reports the New York Post. Thus, the number of migrants in the town of Eagle Pass in south Texas outnumbers border guards 200 to 1.
According to media reports, the other day the Texas border checkpoint was processing the admission of more than 4,500 migrants, while at that time 5,300 people were already being held inside. As a result, the capacity of the checkpoint reached 260 per cent.
The situation became so bad that, by the admission of state congressman Tony Gonzalez, authorities were forced to close Customs and Border Protection checkpoints across the state and divert labour to Eagle Pass. Thus, other population centres were left without proper controls, causing smugglers to become active in a large number of rural areas.
“Every single checkpoint is closed – Uvalde, Carizzo – every single checkpoint is closed, and every single Border Patrol agent is here. Guess where they’re not? They’re not in the fields to stop bad actors and smuggled goods. It’s dangerous. Everybody is on edge,” Gonzalez told NYP.
According to the congressman, border patrol agents from across the country have been thrown in to help their Texas counterparts,
“I met a guy from Buffalo and another from New Jersey. I mean, they’re coming in to help from all over the country.”