A rush of immigrants over an international bridge that connects the United States and Mexico by way of El Paso, Texas, this weekend appears to have been fueled by a rumor of a free pass into the U.S. and frustrations over a new Biden administration app.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district includes part of West Texas’s El Paso region, said immigrants in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez were told by unspecific sources that Sunday was the “day of the migrant” celebration and that they would be allowed to enter the U.S freely.
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Gonzales said he spoke with a U.S. border official in El Paso who heard from immigrants during a debrief that they had been under the impression that they could temporarily cross the border.
Some immigrants told media on site that they had waited in Mexico for months and grown frustrated with the recently announced phone app CBP One, which the Biden administration instructed immigrants earlier this year to use to seek refuge in the U.S. However, many immigrants have complained that the app required them to travel hundreds of miles for appointments with U.S. customs officials or that it was not working due to technical issues.
Several hundred immigrants were filmed running through the Mexican customs checkpoints on the south side of the bridge and toward the center of the bridge, where U.S. federal police in riot gear had placed barricades to prevent people from passing through what is normally a road for vehicular traffic.
“It was just madness,” Gonzales said in a phone call with the Washington Examiner on Monday. “Just when you think you can’t get any crazier, it does. And like I said, the biggest loser are the Americans in El Paso that are just trying to live their lives going over to Mexico to visit their family or shop.”
Gonzales said U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who inspect incoming traffic had previously trained for this type of event and were prepared for what happened.
“They knew months ago that it was only a matter of time when they were going to have to execute kind of securing the port like they did yesterday,” Gonzales said.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), whose district is immediately east of Gonzales’s, praised CBP’s Office of Field Operations officers for responding appropriately and with no additional violence.
“I’m concerned about the situation that unfolded yesterday in El Paso,” Cuellar said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “While we gather the details on the activity that took place, such as how many of the migrants tried to cross, their purpose for crossing, and what led to this organized event, I applaud the men and women in blue for handling the situation professionally and effectively.”
Gonzales added what happened Sunday could be indicative of what is to come in mid-May when pandemic public health restrictions that barred immigrants from seeking asylum at the ports of entry conclude after three years. Gonzales said Sunday’s rush at the bridge could be a “precursor” for May.
“The administration has to take notice of what’s happening here. They have to take some responsibility,” Gonzales said.
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Cuellar, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, said he will push for additional funding and personnel amid the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border.
“We must ensure that these situations do not repeat themselves,” Cuellar said.
