Mayorkas visits border as it erupts into chaos near Title 42 end

Anna Giaritelli

May 05, 05:30 AM May 05, 05:30 AM

AUSTIN, Texas — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited with U.S. border officials in a Gulf Coast city on the Texas-Mexico border Thursday to see how federal law enforcement has prepared for what is expected to be a historic cross-border migration event next week.

Mayorkas visited the Rio Grande Valley region of southeast Texas as part of a two-day trip a week ahead of when the Biden administration will stop expelling illegal immigrants back to Mexico under Title 42 and return to pre-pandemic protocols.

BORDER FALLING INTO CHAOS AHEAD OF TITLE 42 END DATE: 'WE'RE IN TROUBLE'

The end of Title 42 on May 11 is expected, by the department's own admission, to see between 13,000 and 18,000 arrests of illegal immigrants per day given that countless immigrants have been waiting in Mexico to cross when the policy is lifted.

But already, the Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville and the West Texas city of El Paso are experiencing massive increases in apprehensions, and while in the Brownsville area, Mayorkas kept a low profile, skipping out on the normal press conference meetings with local and national media as the situation up and down the border grows more chaotic.

Pool reports from media ride-alongs and tours with Border Patrol in McAllen made no mention of where Mayorkas was as reporters spent all day in separate engagements.

In El Paso, video shared exclusively with the Washington Examiner showed a massive group of immigrants after they had crossed the border illegally and were waiting next to a metal fence, waiting to be taken into custody.

In another scene caught on camera by Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district includes part of El Paso, hundreds of immigrants who crossed in the same area had set up an encampment, similar to how the September 2021 influx of 15,000 Haitian immigrants began at the time.

Approximately 73,000 people were apprehended by Border Patrol nationwide between April 21-30.

Mayorkas, who normally holds a press conference during trips to the border, bucked reporters, and the Department of Homeland Security did not disclose if he would meet with Border Patrol agents at any point Thursday or Friday.

Historically, during meetings with Border Patrol agents during his trips, Mayorkas has been dragged through the mud by agents who strongly criticized him and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz for allowing the worst illegal immigration event in history to go on for more than two years.

Photos show mass illegal crossing of 1,000 immigrants at El Paso border on Wednesday

Anna Giaritelli

March 30, 01:14 PM March 30, 01:14 PM

AUSTIN, Texas — More than 1,000 immigrants surged across the U.S.-Mexico border into El Paso in a mass illegal crossing that unfolded in a matter of hours Wednesday afternoon.

Photos obtained exclusively by the Washington Examiner Wednesday evening showed large groups of immigrants running from the border into El Paso as others stood around on the U.S. side of the border after they illegally crossed and surrendered to Border Patrol agents.

SINEMA AND GONZALES TO VISIT ARIZONA BORDER AS CONGRESS STALLS ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

Border Patrol agents were called in to organize the groups. One picture taken by federal law enforcement on the scene showed a group of mostly young men seated on the ground, smiling.

The regional chief of Border Patrol operations in El Paso, Anthony Good, said that more than 1,000 people were taken into custody in this one incident, according to a statement issued late Wednesday. A picture that Good shared on Twitter showed agents interacting with young children in the group.

In the distance, agents can be seen corralling people into smaller groups as more people continued to cross the border in the background and walk over to the staging area east of Ascarate Park, roughly 10 miles outside downtown El Paso.

Good said the group was primarily Venezuelan. Under a Biden administration policy put forth in January, Venezuelans are to seek admission through a government phone app, and those who cross illegally will be returned to Mexico.

The U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez said immigrants had been wrongly informed that they could enter the United States, which prompted a rush of people in a short period of time.

"The rumors about the opening of the border after the tragedy in Ciudad Juarez are completely false. Law enforcement policies and security measures to restrict documentless access to the U.S. remain in effect," the U.S. Consulate wrote in a statement. "The border is closed to irregular migration!"

On Monday, 38 people died in a fire at the Mexican government's immigrant detention facility in Juarez. Men detained inside were killed when guards and staff rushed out and left them locked in the cells.

The mass crossing is the latest of mass entry attempts allegedly caused by a false rumor that circulated in Juarez. It was not clear if the Mexican cartels that facilitate human smuggling at the border were involved in the circulation of the rumor.

In mid-March, immigrants in Juarez rushed across an international bridge, fueled by a rumor of a free pass into the U.S. and frustrations over a new Biden administration phone app meant to deter illegal crossings between the ports of entry.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district includes part of West Texas’s El Paso region, told the Washington Examiner at the time that immigrants in Juarez were told by unspecific sources a “day of the migrant” celebration meant they would be allowed to enter the U.S. freely.

Sun Bowl cancels El Paso event after facility is turned into 1,000-cot shelter for immigrants

Anna Giaritelli

December 23, 07:41 PM December 23, 08:23 PM

EL PASO, Texas — A major community event on the eve of the Sun Bowl college football game next week has been canceled as a result of the city’s decision to use the convention center to house up to 1,000 immigrants living on the streets downtown.

The Sun Bowl Association announced this week that it had axed the 2022 Sun Bowl Fan Fiesta on Thursday in response to Democratic Mayor Oscar Leeser’s state of emergency declaration earlier this month.

“The mayor has declared a little humanitarian state of emergency,” Sun Bowl Association Executive Director Bernie Olivas said in an announcement Wednesday. “They are using the convention center to house some of these poor immigrants that are looking for shelter somewhere, so we have canceled the Fan Fiesta.”

The Sun Bowl college football game dates back to 1935, and this year's matchup features UCLA and Pittsburgh. As the game and other bowls have become bigger attractions, other events have been added to the weekend, such as the fan fiesta, which unites the community.

TEXAS MILITARY HELPS REGAIN CONTROL OF BORDER AMID EL PASO EMERGENCY

The fan fiesta that takes place on the eve of the big game was also canceled in 2020 and 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. The last one that took place in 2019 boasted a fireworks show, a battle of the bands, live entertainment, performances by local cheerleaders, on-site food vendors, and activities for children.

The convention center has been converted into temporary housing for immigrants released by federal immigration officials after they illegally crossed the border. More than 10,000 immigrants were released into El Paso last week and more than 84,000 in a four-month period that ended in early December, according to publicly available city data.

The Washington Examiner observed hundreds of immigrants on the street in a couple of spots downtown this week. Immigrants were on the street after being released by Border Patrol to religious groups and nonprofit organizations that do not have the room or resources to take in as many people as is needed.

Fewer than 200 immigrants stayed at the convention center on Wednesday night, as well as Thursday night, El Paso Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino said in a phone call Friday afternoon. The high number of beds left unused was not accidental but intentional, he said.

“We’re preparing for when Title 42 goes away,” he said, referring to a federal clause that, when canceled, is expected to result in more immigrants coming across the border into El Paso. Title 42 was slated to end Wednesday, but it remains in place following a Supreme Court temporary stay. “Of course time is more advantageous to us. It lets us prepare.”

The city’s approach avoids setting smaller operations and then needing to scale up with no time to prepare.

“We’re also looking at the next two facilities that we’ll stand up as shelters,” D’Agostino said.

The city is working to acquire two empty schools to house immigrants. The schools each had 1,500 students enrolled and could facilitate immigrants in classrooms and public spaces such as the cafeteria and the gym.

The convention center downtown opened to immigrants on Wednesday evening, according to D’Agostino, as an unusually cold weather system moved into the region. One reporter filmed immigrants being walked to a back entrance of the facility where trucks unload.

“We want to make sure they are out of the elements, they’re safe, they’re secure, there’s security here, and they’ll have meals provided,” said D’Agostino during an invite-only press conference with reporters Wednesday.

Despite the opening of the temporary shelter, hundreds of immigrants slept Wednesday evening body-to-body on the sidewalk outside the Sacred Heart Church downtown and a block from the Greyhound Bus Station, which is next to the convention center.

A front desk associate at the Hotel Paso Del Norte, a luxury hotel by Marriott International located one block from the convention center, said the cancellation had not significantly affected the number of guests expected to stay at the hotel.

“People are just calling in beforehand asking if it's safe to be here in El Paso, just with everything going on,” said an employee, Julia, on Friday morning. “These people are just trying to get from Point A to Point B just like you and me. They’re — they’re contained in their own spot. They’re not there wandering around.”

The Washington Examiner was unable to obtain interviews with Leeser, the police department, or the county sheriff’s office.

A request to tour the facility Friday morning was denied. As this reporter called El Paso city spokespeople outside, El Paso Live’s Director of Event Services Matt Christmas confronted the reporter and had two security officers escort her off the property.

The city expects $6 million in funding from the federal government to help cover the cost of operations. It has yet to be reimbursed for the spending thus far, D’Agostino said.