Texas orders border closure to stop 8,000 migrants waiting under bridge to apply for asylum

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, announced this Thursday that he will order the closure of six border crossings in the face of the massive arrival of thousands of migrants waiting to be processed to enter the United States. 

Some 8,400 people, mostly from Haiti, are seeking asylum at the Del Rio International Bridge, a number that has grown almost exponentially in recent days, according to Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank. Martinez.

Migrants hope to enter the US from the Del Río International BridgeCaleb Olvera / Telemundo

Last Saturday there were about 2,500 migrants waiting to enter the country, he said, and five days later the number had tripled.

"The Border Patrol is overwhelmed. They just can't process them fast enough, so these individuals are piling up under the bridge," the sheriff told the Texas Tribune. processed, "he detailed.

[About 90,000 migrants remain stranded on Mexico's southern border.

They are mostly Haitians]

In response to this situation, the Governor of Texas ordered the Department of Public Safety and the National Guard to increase the number of personnel and vehicles to close six points of entry along the southern border, to prevent these caravans [from immigrants] invade our state. "

Ports of entry depend on the federal government, not the states, as does immigration policy.

US law includes the right of immigrants to request asylum at the border.

And, in any case, the arrival of asylum seekers is never an invasion, since they are all waiting at the border to be processed as required by law by the federal authorities. 

"The border crisis is so serious that Customs and Border Protection has requested our help because their agents are overwhelmed by chaos," Abbott explained. 

Aerial view of the area near the Del Río International Bridge, where thousands of migrants wait Caleb Olvera / Telemundo

The arrival of undocumented migrants fell slightly in recent weeks due to the restrictive measures applied by Mexico, going from 7,275 a day to 6,177.

However, federal agents registered 5,196 encounters with Haitians in the Del Río sector in August, a 25% increase over the previous month, according to the latest statistics.

[USA.

accepts new applications for the family reunification program for minors in Central America]

According to the Val Verde sheriff, about 70% of the people waiting at the Del Rio International Bridge are from Haiti. The Caribbean country faces two serious crises caused: a humanitarian one after the earthquake of August 7.2 and a political-social one due to the assassination of its president at the hands of an armed commando in circumstances that have yet to be clarified.