U.S. BORDER

Texas continues to ramp up manpower and equipment along our border with Mexico as a record number of immigrants have been caught crossing the border illegally.

Gov. Greg Abbott, along with nine other state governors, gathered in Mission, Texas to discuss the ongoing border crisis.

There is growing concern among immigrant rights advocates and immigration attorneys on rather the number of migrants apprehended along our southern border will deepen an already staggering backlog of cases in immigration court.

As the federal government was working to process and remove an estimated 15,000 migrants from under the international bridge in Del Rio, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials held an “on background” conference call with reporters covering the effort.

Two Galveston County Constables returned to Kinney County again to answer calls for help from a sheriff who is short-handed and facing an increasing number of calls for service because of what is happening on our border.

Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference to discuss the situation in Del Rio on Tuesday. The governor will be joined by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Texas Military Department adjutant Gen. Tracy Norris, and National Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd.

Democratic Congressman from Laredo, Henry Cuellar helped lead a meeting between several south Texas community leaders and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

At least three Galveston County deputies and one elected constable will be heading to Kinney County next week as part of Gov. Greg Abbot’s border initiative.

A federal court judge in El Paso issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday, preventing state troopers from enforcing Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that restricts the travel of certain migrants.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued an executive order Wednesday that will restrict ground transportation of migrants who he claims pose a risk of carrying the coronavirus into Texas communities.

While final details have not been hashed out, Galveston and Montgomery County officials announced they will send local resources to the southern border.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide call on Friday for jailers across the state to assist border sheriffs with increased arrests at the border.

Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to move prisoners from the Briscoe Unit in Dilley to make room for migrants crossing the border unlawfully and who have committed a state or federal crime.

Customs and Border Protection released numbers this week showing the number of people caught crossing the border illegally or deemed inadmissible to the U.S. continued to increase during the month of May.

The number of immigrants apprehended along the southern border rose to levels not seen in nearly 20 years. The sharpest increase in apprehensions came from February to March, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference on the unaccompanied minor crisis today at 5:30 p.m. in San Antonio.

Texas’s border with Mexico is again seeing a rise in the number of people caught illegally crossing into the United States. According to data from Customs and Border Protection, the number of apprehensions began rising in April of 2020. “We are starting to see large groups come across at one time,” said Border Patrol agent Jesse Moreno. COVID-19 restrictions currently prevent media from riding with Border Patrol agents. Border Patrol released a statement:CBP has seen a steady increase in border encounters since April 2020, which, aggravated by COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing guidelines, has caused some facilities to reach maximum safe holding capacity.

MEXICO CITY The Mexican army said Thursday that soldiers patrolling along the Rio Grande river have found an unfinished tunnel that was apparently dug under the river bed in a bid to reach U.S. territory. The army said a small pump was found at the mouth of the structure and was apparently used to clear water from it. The army said the tunnel was found earlier this week near the city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas. The tunnel was apparently used for illegal activities. The river, known in Mexico as the Rio Bravo, is a frequent crossing point for drugs and migrant smuggling.

Later on Tuesday, the Mexican Foreign Ministry announced that it was extending its border restrictions, also until August 21. "We recognize that the situation continues to be complex in the United States in regards to Covid-19," Trudeau said during a Monday press conference. According to one poll, a large majority of Canadians say the US-Canada border should remain closed for the foreseeable future. "To minimize the risk of importation of Covid-19 cases into Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has personnel at 36 points of entry across Canada. PHAC has deployed officials, including Screening Officers, Clinical Screening Officers, and Quarantine Officers, to select high-volume ports of entry to support the Canada Border Services Agency in carrying out Covid-19 enhanced screening measures.

CIUDAD VICTORIA – Officials in a Mexican border city are tightening checks on travellers coming from Texas, saying they fear U.S. visitors may be helping feed a spike in COVID-19 cases. Municipal and state officials in Matamoros, together with Mexico's National Guard began setting up checkpoints Saturday at the three border crossings to question U.S. citizens and residents coming from Brownsville, Texas. At least 180 people were turrned back at a single point on Saturday, according to city officials. Commercial traffic, critical to the economy on both sides of the border, has continued on a large scale. Residents and officials on both sides have asserted that travellers from across the border were bringing the infection.

HOUSTON – A 32-year-old U.S. citizen has died after being arrested by Border Patrol agents in South Texas, the U.S. government said Wednesday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not identify the man in a statement issued Wednesday, but alleged that he was a suspect in a human smuggling incident. The man was arrested at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday by agents assigned to the Border Patrol station in Brackettville, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of the border with Mexico. The agency did not identify the man's illness, symptoms or cause of death, which was first reported by BuzzFeed News. The Border Patrol does not ordinarily detain U.S. citizens, but it routinely arrests Americans accused of trying to smuggle immigrants who have crossed the border illegally.

He has blamed former chief of staff John F. Kelly and former homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for not focusing enough on the wall, senior administration officials said. The wall adds to Kushner’s growing portfolio of responsibilities, which some of his critics have said border on comical. But he remains the most influential adviser in the West Wing and enjoys a level of trust from the president that makes him unique within the administration, according to current and former administration officials. Administration officials acknowledge that building in those areas amounts to the lowest-hanging fruit for the border wall project. Still, Kushner has told others that a wall has to be built because his father-in-law promised it would be.