Biden administration to send more agents to Del Rio to assist in surge of Haitian migrants

On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will be sending an additional 400 agents and officers to Del Rio, Texas to assist in moving the encampment of Haitian migrants currently under a bridge there.

The DHS said in its Saturday statement that the agents and officers would be deployed to the area in the next 24 to 48 hours to help move the large group of migrants to other processing locations along the border.

They noted that "if additional staff is needed, more will be sent."

The DHS said that on Friday alone, an additional 2,000 Haitian migrants arrived at the Del Rio migrant camp.

The agency is working to return these migrants to Haiti at a quickening pace starting Sunday. DHS stated that they would expel a majority of the Migrants under the CDC Title 42 authority.

"Those who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain will be placed in expedited removal proceedings.  DHS is conducting regular expulsion and removal flights to Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador, and Northern Triangle countries," the DHS added.

"Today has been a significant change in strategy. We have much more resources that are being delivered to the Del Rio area," Mayor Bruno Lozano said at a news conference on Saturday, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Lozano estimated that the number of migrants waiting to be processed there is over 14,000.

The migrants have been held in a camp under the bridge due to the Border Patrol facilities not being able to handle the crush of migrants crossing the border at Del Rio.

The DHS said that they are "undertaking urgent humanitarian actions" to "reduce crowding and improve conditions for migrants on US soil," including having emergency medical technicians on hand and providing portable toilets, water, and towels to the migrants.

"Border patrol agents are doing everything they can but it's clear they need more support and they need it now," said Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas. He noted that the number of migrants currently located at the camp had risen drastically since his visit to the camp on Thursday.

While any of the migrants will be returned to their countries of origin through title 42, a federal judge in Washington ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration is violating immigration law by expelling migrants families under this police, according to The Wall Street Journal.

That judge reportedly that judge stayed the effect of his decision for two weeks.

The administration appealed that decision to a higher court on Friday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the conditions of the camp that these migrants are being held in are extremely tough. Migrants are sleeping on the dirt, relieving themselves in the nearby Rio Grande, and making makeshift shelters from materials that they can find nearby to shield themselves from the hot desert sun.

The port of entry at Del Rio has reportedly been closed as a precaution, with Border officials telling the public to use the Eagle Pass, Texas port of entry, which is located about an hour south of Del Rio.

The stretch of border near Del Rio has become the second-busiest sector this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Sector has arrested nearly 215,000 people there, out of 1.47 million arrests across the entire border since October, which is the beginning of the government's budget year.

In comparison, this same sector saw just 57,000 migrants during the 2019 surge in migrants.

"This is definitely at a whole different level, no doubt," David Martinez, the Val Verde County attorney, told The Wall Street Journal.