Raw video shared around the world by dozens of media outlets on Thursday showed a crowd of migrants pushing aside Texas National Guardsmen and razor wire at a contested section of the border in El Paso.
Jennie Taer, a reporter with the New York Post, said she witnessed around 600 migrants amassed between official crossing points at the international border, who the Texas National Guard were attempting to push back in small groups.
The Post reported that the situation grew tense as groups were separated out and video shows the migrants then crying out for help and rushing to the border gate. A group of men with hoodies, gloves and winter jackets then pull the fencing away as a group of five guards form a defensive position to fill the gap.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X (formerly twitter) Thursday evening that the Texas National Guard and Dept. of Public Safety quickly regained control and are redoubling the razor wire barriers.
Abbott added that DPS is instructed to arrest every illegal immigrant involved for criminal trespass & destruction of property.
About the surge of illegal immigrants in El Paso:
The TX National Guard & Dept. of Public Safety quickly regained control & are redoubling the razor wire barriers.
DPS is instructed to arrest every illegal immigrant involved for criminal trespass & destruction of property.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 21, 2024
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin posted on X that “Per Texas law enforcement source, this involved a group of several hundred illegal aliens, mostly single adult men who rushed the soldiers, and one has been arrested so far for assaulting a soldier. More arrests likely coming for destruction of property & more assaults.”
The El Paso Sector where the Thursday incident occurred, covers the entire state of New Mexico and the two western most counties in Texas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said 12 migrants with previous criminal convictions and/or criminal histories, were apprehended attempting to enter the country illegally through the El Paso Sector in just the week of Feb. 23.
CBP said the migrants were either identified through criminal records checks or self-admitted to violent cartel and/or gang affiliations. Many are associated to murders, kidnappings and extorsions among other criminal activities from Mexico, Colombia Venezuela, and El Salvador. These criminal organizations include La Linea, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Artistas Asesinos, Cartel de Los Soles, and MS-13.
