LAREDO, Texas – When people think of the southern border, it may bring to mind a vast, open desert, flecked with cacti and etched by a thin trail of fencing.
Not so here in Laredo Sector, where the Rio Grande narrows and separates the bushy banks of Mexico and the U.S. by mere feet of water. Migrants, predominantly adult men from Mexico rather than the Central American families common in other sectors, take advantage of the low river surrounded by trees. They know, as do the smugglers who assist illegal immigrants, that if they scramble across the water and into the trees, they are a short sprint from disappearing in Laredo amid its many fast-food restaurants, tiny houses and money exchanges.
DHS MOVES TO END LIMITS ON MIGRANT FAMILY DETENTIONS
But lately, the crisis-level surge in crossings has eased.
On an airboat tour Tuesday, accompanied by Fox News, Border Patrol members carved through the Rio Grande looking for trouble, slowing down occasionally to peer into the trees. This time, they didn’t find it.
That’s not to say the migrants aren’t crossing – they are – but the numbers are down significantly from the levels seen in the spring. And while the furious heat of the summer months is a factor in discouraging migrants, Sector Chief Patrol Agent Felix Chavez says that the Trump administration’s push to get Mexico to cooperate with immigration efforts has paid dividends.
“We’ve been monitoring the apprehension numbers closely, specifically going back 70 days before June 10 and 70 days after June 10,” Chavez told Fox News. “And what we’ve seen here in Laredo Sector is a reduction in 30 percent in our apprehension numbers, southwest border-wide numbers are down 38 percent.” – READ MORE