DEL RIO, Texas — As Gov. Greg Abbott was addressing reporters about the increasingly precarious situation at the border, officers some 200 feet away were taking into custody two groups of people who had just illegally crossed over from Mexico.
Abbott traveled from Austin to Del Rio Tuesday afternoon to share what the state is doing to mitigate the unprecedented flow of noncitizens across the U.S.-Mexico border.
‘FEELS LIKE ANOTHER COUNTRY’: ON THE GROUND AT THE DEL RIO MIGRANT CAMP
While speaking at a press conference around 12:30 p.m. local time, nearby Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety officers encountered six people attempting to sneak into the United States not far from where Abbott was giving his remarks.
“You can see by all of the Texas Department of Public Safety cars, as well as the National Guard vehicles that surround us here but go for miles on the other side of where we are right now, they have created a steel barrier preventing people from being able to cross the border,” Abbott said.
“One day there were countless people coming across the border, then the very same day that Texas Department of Public Safety put up all of these DPS vehicles, and suddenly people stopped crossing the border in this location. That strategy is working,” Abbott said, who was not aware of the incident as he spoke.
Around the corner and a minute’s walk down the road, two DPS officers were detaining people who had just made it across the river.
“We are arresting and jailing anybody who comes across the border illegally and trespasses on private property or public lands,” Abbott said. “It’s not the Biden administration’s catch and release policy, it’s arrest and go to jail policy, sending a message to these folks … you may wind up with handcuffs on your hands, going straight to jail, as opposed to being released to the general population.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
County prosecutors are bringing charges against migrants caught trespassing on public and private land. Those in custody are being held at select jails statewide.
