![Fox's Bill Melugin covers the border crisis in Del Rio, Texas [Fox News Screenshot]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Foxs-Bill-Melugin-covers-the-border-crisis-in-Del-Rio-Texas-Fox-News-Screenshot-1-e1631906524167.jpg "Fox's Bill Melugin covers the border crisis in Del Rio, Texas [Fox News Screenshot]")
After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily banned Fox News from using a drone to capture the border crisis, Texas troopers reportedly helped Fox continue their coverage.
Filming live above the international bridge in Del Rio, Fox’s Bill Melugin said troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) were “kind enough to let us go up in their helicopter with them and get a look at the situation at this bridge right now.”
AMAZING — Since the Biden administration has kicked @BillFoxLA and his team out from flying Fox News’s drones along the U.S./Mexico border in Del Rio, TX, *local* law enforcement decided to get him a helicopter to hop in and go check things out to continue reporting. pic.twitter.com/pZ54my6E7o
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 17, 2021
Video footage shows migrants, who Melugin says are mostly Haitian, huddled under the bridge due to a strain on border patrol resources. Dozens of migrants are then captured crossing the Del Rio River into Texas illegally. Melugin said after the migrants cross the river they use a dirt path to get to the area under the bridge.
Melugin described the scene as a “non-stop trail of migrants” and a “large refugee camp.” Border patrol agents allegedly told Melugin the situation was “out of control” and that they need immediate help.
.@BillFOXLA on what Joe Biden DOESN’T want you to see: Border Patrol sources “tell me that this situation is ‘out-of-control.’ They need help. They say there aren’t even enough porta-potties or food or anything…It looks like a large refugee camp.” pic.twitter.com/UtCuVGxBpv
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 17, 2021
The FAA confirmed just minutes before Melugin went live that they granted Fox News clearance to “operate from now until the end of September in the restricted airspace.”
. @FoxNews applied this morning and has received clearance to operate from now until the end of September in the restricted airspace linked below.
Any media can also apply at: https://t.co/aKnbUkaTG6https://t.co/FyUL146Lmo
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) September 17, 2021
The FAA issued a two-week temporary flight restriction Thursday over the area citing “special security reasons” after Fox News released footage capturing thousands of migrants flowing over the border in Del Rio.
The agency then issued an update noting the media could request an exemption to operate in the area, which Fox News did Friday morning, according to the FAA. (RELATED: ‘I Think This Is Illegal’: Sen. Kennedy Says Fox News’ Drones Grounded To Hide ‘Lunacy’ Of ‘Open Border’)
In a statement to the Daily Caller, the FAA said border patrol requested the flight restriction for drones because it allegedly was interfering with law enforcement aircraft on the border.
Amidst the situation at the border, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that six points of entry would close.
“The sheer negligence of the Biden Administration to do their job and secure the border is appalling,” Abbott said in a statement.
Abbott later reversed his decision, blaming the Biden administration for having “flip-flopped to a different strategy that abandons border security and instead makes it easier for people to cross illegally and for cartels to exploit the border.”
“I have directed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard to maintain their presence at and around ports of entry to deter crossings.”
The Daily Caller has reached out to the Texas DPS but did not receive a response at the time of publication.