EAGLE PASS, Texas – A group of migrant women with three small children in tow slowly made their way into the U.S. through a shallow stretch of the Rio Grande led by a one-armed coyote smuggler, fighting a treacherous route and fleeing cartel checkpoints along the way. manner.
They made it all because they knew the Trump administration — and their no-nonsense new border czar — would be in charge of the border.
“It’s a risk,” one woman from Venezuela told The Post moments after entering the country and into the waiting arms of a Border Patrol agent.
“Because many of them come in because of necessity or because of political persecution, or the problem of violence in our country.”
The woman, wearing a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, said she believed the former president would be re-elected, so she and others in her group hurried across the border – knowing the time was right with vice president Kamala Harris in charge. has run out.
Asked if he thought he would be deported if President-elect Trump took office, he admitted bleakly, “it could happen,” and acknowledged that his return to the White House is what accelerated his schedule for entering the country.
He said he had spent five months in Mexico City, but failed to get an appointment with CBP One – an application of the Biden-Harris administration designed to allow asylum seekers a legal path to America that has been exploited by criminal migrants and gang members.
“I never made an appointment … and decided to risk crossing over and see what happens,” he said.
Days after the election, officials on both sides of the US southern border are preparing for the last thousands of migrants before Trump takes office.
An average of 300 migrants still flood illegally into Eagle Pass every day — and although foot traffic has slowed since its peak — down about 86%, officials say — the Lone Star State is still bracing for the possibility of a “massive” crossing. before border control changes hands.
“People know the window is going to be closed, so I think the crap will hit the fans in December and January,” said one Border Patrol source, adding that agents were “beaten hard” by smugglers carrying migrants on dirt bikes. .
“We’re waiting to get that last minute group to take across the border before Trump gets in. It’s taking up already,” said another border official.
The current garrison includes immigration officials from Mexico and the US, who have gathered on both sides of the border in the Eagle Pass area – the main artery for migrants entering the US under the Biden administration’s non-existent enforcement policy.
Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez told The Post that smugglers in Mexico have been directing groups of illegal migrants to cross into areas where they have no authority for arrest.
“These groups are crossing into areas that are mostly federal lands, which means that’s where the Border Patrol is being used more,” Olivarez said.
“So this group is looking for a Border Patrol agent. They don’t want to run into DPS soldiers or National Guard soldiers because they know they won’t cross.
The Border Patrol, on the other hand, will follow the current policy of the Biden administration and take it for screening. Since the group witnessed by The Post arrived as a family unit, they will likely be released to the US with a date to appear in immigration court.
Today, more immigrants are trying to evade law enforcement and are increasingly sneaking into private farms — and the new presidential administration could be the reason why that’s happening, Olivarez said.
“Now they’re starting to realize that it’s harder to get in now not only in Texas, but also because of some of the consequences and some of the rhetoric from the new administration,” he said.
On the other side of the border, Mexican Immigration and the Mexican National Guard were seen patrolling the area north of the International Bridge – another main route for migrants crossing illegally.
One U.S. border agent told The Post that Piedras Negras — a stone’s throw from Eagle Pass — sees up to 30 migrants a day for appointments made through CBP One.
Law enforcement in the border zone has spoken highly of President-elect Trump and border tsar Tom Homan, who has promised mass deportations of migrants are on the cards.
“(Trump) is coming with a new star. I’m glad that (Homan) is the one who’s up the chain. He works for the Border Patrol. I’m glad that he knows the immigration laws and he knows everything he has to do to deport,” said Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber told The Post.
He questioned the logic behind the current administration allowing millions of migrants to cross the border with little regard for what happened or how they got there.
“A lot of people here come together. We don’t know what we have here, people with no skills, no education, nothing else. It’s a burden on the government. It’s a burden on the government, because who pays for these things? “
Schmerber said that while county law enforcement is ready and willing to help the new administration, a lack of resources limits their ability to deal with the problem.
“We walk across the border and there are people coming from the other side, with drugs and criminals, so I have to take care of the security of the county … we work with the DEA, we work with other federal agencies. it’s not a full-time job,” he said.
“It’s just that each of us has the opportunity to work with them, but we don’t have the manpower, and we don’t have technology, computers and so on. We’re here to help, but we can’t take over the project, especially with immigration. My employees ignorant of the law or otherwise.
