Nearly a thousand illegal immigrants held under a bridge in Texas

New video shows ​nearly a thousand illegal immigrants being held by border patrol agents under a bridge near the southern border in Texas — with a top Republican calling it an “absolute catastrophe,” as the Biden administration continues to take heat for the escalating migrant crisis.

“An absolute catastrophe from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and House & Senate Democrats. #BidenBorderCrisis,” GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) wrote on Twitter Sunday, linking to the footage posted by Bill Melugin of Fox News in Los Angeles.

“NEW: This is the largest group of migrants we’ve ever seen being held by Border Patrol under Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, TX. Looks like it could be up to 1,000 people. We can only get a look at the area with our drone. There’s a popular Rio Grande crossing area nearby,” Melugin posted along with drone footage of the incident.

The Biden White House has been under mounting pressure to find a way to respond to the crisis at the border caused after the president rolled back or reversed many of the immigration policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Rep. Elise Stefanik reacted to the footage of migrants, calling it “an absolute catastrophe from Joe Biden, Kamala Harris.”
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) also called on the administration to take action.

“Our DHS agents, & border communities, are overwhelmed & must be prioritized. DHS will again encounter over 180,000 immigrants at the southern border during July—adding to the more than 1M immigrants that have arrived at the southern border in FY21. Something has to change!” he said in a Twitter post that linked to the video. 

Cuellar and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) sent a letter to Biden last week, urging him to name former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson as border czar. 

Migrants inder a bridge.
The White House has been under mounting pressure to find a way to respond to the crisis at the border.
Bill Melugin @BillFOXLA

“We write to you with a sense of urgency regarding the escalating situation at our southern border. In doing so, we hope to demonstrate that this bicameral concern is neither partisan nor political,” the lawmakers wrote.

Their letter laid out the numbers that have contributed to the crisis. 

“In June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (‘CBP’) recorded 188,829 enforcement encounters at the southwest land border, the highest monthly total in a decade. This represents a 571% increase over the 33,049 encounters recorded by CBP in June 2020. Moreover, in 2021 alone, these numbers have increased by 255% from the 74,019 encounters recorded in December 2020,” Cuellar and Graham wrote. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Henry Cuellar.
“Something has to change!” Rep. Henry Cuellar (right) demanded after seeing the footage.
Getty Images

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, frustrated by the administration’s inability to control the border, has signed executive orders recently directing state National Guard troops to assist with arrests of illegal immigrants and to allow state troops to stop vehicles suspected of transporting illegal immigrants. 

The troopers can stop vehicles “upon reasonable suspicion” and can reroute them to their point of origin or impound them if they are found to be carrying illegal immigrants. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland sued to block Abbott’s transportation order, calling it “dangerous” and “contrary to federal law.”

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