Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said agents are continuing to process and receive illegal aliens in unprecedented numbers through the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector.
“We’ve exceeded our capacity and we’re doing all we can to house migrants in a humane place and transfer them in and out in a timely fashion, as none of the Border Patrol facilities, including the one in Donna, are meant to be a long term detention centers,” Chief Rodolfo Karisch said.
Agents from Brownsville to Roma recently apprehended more than 2,400 illegal aliens, the majority of which consisted of family units and unaccompanied children who readily turn themselves in to agents while detaining 10,000 persons in one week.
Over the weekend, the 40,000-square foot Donna Temporary Facility went operational to assist in holding family units pending transfer to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement Removal Operations or Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Authorities acknowledged the 10,000 apprehended illegal aliens represented one of the highest weekly totals ever experienced in the sector. Stations and processing centers are currently holding more than 7,000 illegal aliens in custody and, at the current rate, the RGV Sector is expected to surpass the mass migration influx experienced in 2014.
CBP is charged with securing U.S. borders while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.