Coahuila and Texas authorities are stepping up efforts to stem the migration phenomenon at the Rio Grande border through Operation Mirror.
According to a report by local media Zócalo, a strong security guard has been put in place along the river, particularly in the Acuña and Piedras Negras areas, places often chosen by migrants to enter the United States.
Agustín Flores Segovia, local director of public safety, said elements of the Criminal Police, Action and Response Police, Civilian Police of Coahuila and the Attorney General’s Office were involved, conducting patrol and aerial surveillance duties in the area.
The actions aim to convince the migrants who are risking their lives in the turbulent waters of the river, which has raised its level significantly, making the crossing more dangerous.
“It’s not a security operation, it’s not an anti-migrant operation. We want their safety and that of Coahuilenses and we have arrested 96 people and several smugglers,” local authorities told media agency Impact Vision.
Operation Mirror started Last Thursday when Mexico began controlling the river by air, sea and land. Despite this, these measures have not stopped the transit of migrants in the region.
This operation in Coahuila to strengthen border security comes in response to a historic agreement with neighboring Texas, whose Gov. Greg Abbott is faced with the arrival every day Dozens of undocumented immigrants attempt to enter US soil.
Last week, Abbott announced on Twitter the start of this maneuver with the support of his Coahuila Mexican counterpart, Miguel Riquelme, noting that “Coahuila Governor Miguel Riquelme is beginning his enhanced border security measures after signing our historic accord. We secure BOTH sides of the border.”
The presence of Cuban migrants trying to reach the US to seek political asylum has increased in the region, but hundreds of Central Americans are also arriving, as well as Venezuelans, Colombians and other nationalities.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 78,903 Cubans entered the United States through points on the southern border during the first six months of fiscal year 2022, which began Oct. 1, 2021, and 32,141 of them last March. .
By the number of Cubans arriving in the United States in March, they became the second-largest national group with the largest influx across the southern border, surpassed only by Mexicans (87,388) and ahead of Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, who are traditional immigrants added higher amounts.
The Republican governor of Texas has called Biden’s efforts to protect the US border with Mexico “appalling” and sent Dozens of buses carrying irregular migrants to Washington so the president knows what it’s like to “bear the burden of the federal government’s inaction to secure the border.”
“The state will do everything it can to keep Texans safe,” he said.
Abbott also announced a series of measures to secure the border, including deployment $3 billion in funding for the Texas border security effort, the arrest and detention of illegal immigrants who commit trespassing or other state crimes, the acquisition of 1,700 unused steel plates for Build the border wall in the stateand pass laws that make it easier to prosecute smugglers, among other things.