Hundreds of migrants attempted to storm the border and enter the U.S. via the Paso Del Norte Bridge in Juarez, Mexico, Sunday afternoon, according to U.S. officials and video of the event.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used “port hardening measures” to “temporarily” stop the group from entering, the agency said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. While it’s unclear what caused the rush Sunday, the attempt to cross en masse comes amid a record surge in migrant encounters across the southern border. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Red Cross Packets Show Migrants Where To Cross The US Border)
CBP encountered more than 2.3 million migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022 and more than 870,000 between October 2022 and January 2023. Amid the influx, the Biden administration has increased migrant traffic at the U.S. ports, where many of them can apply for exemptions to Title 42 expulsion, the Trump-era public health order used to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, via a phone application known as CBP One.
Migrants are also anticipating the end of Title 42 on May 11.
BREAKING: Our contact in Juarez, MX tells us a massive group of at least 1,000 migrants just attempted to rush a port of entry in El Paso in an effort to get into the United States. Video shows them pushing past the Mexican side of Paso Del Norte bridge. Awaiting CBP comment. pic.twitter.com/lxriIB3TSm
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 12, 2023
“CBP is working to maintain the legal and orderly flow of entry to the U.S. while protecting the safety and security of legitimate trade and travel, CBP facilities and the CBP workforce,” CBP said in a press release responding to the event.
“The CBP response included the deployment of physical barriers to restrict entry. As of 5 pm there is no traffic processing occurring at PDN,” the agency added.
CBP operations at two other border crossings caused “temporary disruptions” because of other groups of migrants, the agency said.
“Barricades were used at the Stanton crossing from 2 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. and at the Bridge of the Americas from 2:45 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.,” CBP said.
The Office of Field Operations Special Response Team and U.S. Border Patrol agents have been deployed to help CBP officers, according to CBP.
Juarez is across from the border city of El Paso, Texas, where President Joe Biden made his first trip to the border in January. The area has experienced large surges of illegal crossings in recent months, forcing the city to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) aid and to send buses of illegal migrants to New York City.
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