Overwhelmed U.S. Border Patrol agents are running out of room to process the historic number of migrants streaming across America's southern border in recent days.
That means new arrivals have to wait for days in an open field that serves as a makeshift camp center in Eagle Pass, Texas.
“They are at full capacity; There is no more space,” a Border Patrol source told .
Among the adults are children, who are seen in shocking new pictures fainting and being placed in the back of ambulances.
The migrants, mostly asylum seekers from South America who entered the United States illegally, have already spent days in a grassy reservoir in Eagle Pass.
This comes after US apprehensions of migrants at the border hit a new record on Monday, with at least 12,600 encounters in just 24 hours.
The stunning increase came as U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it would suspend rail service at two international border crossings, including Eagle Pass.
Several migrants became ill after waiting for hours, sometimes days, at an open-air Border Patrol camp in Eagle Pass
Nearly 10,000 migrants crossed Eagle Pass in Texas in 82 hours, the Border Patrol confirmed
NEW: Video courtesy of the TX Congressman @RepTonyGonzales shows the interior of the Border Patrol's “Firefly” tent processing center in Eagle Pass, Texas, this morning following mass illegal border crossings. He tells me that the hand at the end of the video was that of a DHS officer trying to block his view. pic.twitter.com/Yc3iIB8rds
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 20, 2023
The migrants, mostly asylum seekers from South America who entered the United States illegally, have already spent days in a grassy reservoir in Eagle Pass
Starting on Sunday, there was a massive increase in the city with 28,000 residents; according to the US Border Patrol, 9,957 migrants came to the city in just 82 hours.
“This crisis is completely out of control,” local Congressman Tony Gonzales said Wednesday in Eagle Pass.
“We are at the point of no return.”
A shocking video from the processing center in Eagle Pass shows an overcrowded building intended to house 1,000 migrants, along with 6,000 people, Gonzales said.
“This is just one of the waiting areas,” another agent explained.
“There's a whole caged area back there with grass that can hold about 1,000 people. “They're crammed in like sardines.”
The agency responsible for border security typically performs what is known as “lateral decompression” to help a congested border area.
Agents in the busy sector will fly migrants by bus or plane to less busy parts of the border where the migrants can be screened — what the department calls “processing.”
On Wednesday, the number of migrants waiting for Border Patrol processing in Eagle Pass began to decline
“They are at full capacity; There is no more space,” a Border Patrol source told
A migrant woman was carried away on a stretcher by border guards after requiring medical attention
Migrants who entered the USA without papers are subjected to a background check.
Anyone who is prosecuted will be deported and handed over to the relevant authorities.
Those without records will have their biometric data collected and the Border Patrol will record their illegal entry, a federal crime.
Agents then begin the deportation process.
Since 2021, many illegal border crossers have been applying for asylum during this time.
By law, the U.S. Border Patrol must stop deportations if a person says they are afraid to return to their country.
Those who meet an initial asylum threshold are given a court date, often years away, and are legally released into the country.
The border police's processing space is currently fully utilized.
Earlier this week, migrants were sent to every corner of the southern border, to places like El Paso, where there is a facility specifically for overflow.
On Wednesday morning in Eagle Pass, Texas, the refugee camp was visible between two of the city's international bridges
Local Congressman Tony Gonzales held a news conference just feet from where migrants are being held to explain how the border crisis has affected his constituents
A sick migrant was taken away in an ambulance
With such a large increase, asylum seekers have also been sent to remote border areas such as Sanderson and Comstock, Texas.
Large-scale operations rarely occur at these tiny Border Patrol outposts, but agents in Eagle Pass are desperately trying to keep the line of endless migrants arriving at the border moving.
However, this has now come to an end as even these overflow options have been exhausted.
“They try to send them to nearby stations, but they refuse all of them because their capacity is also exhausted,” noted another agent.
“Migrants stay under the bridge until they find space.”
The wait has brought some migrants to the brink.
In less than an hour, witnessed two men fainting and agents rushing to give them medical attention.
The sick migrants were carried out of the hundreds-long line and over a narrow hill to a waiting stretcher.
About 1,000 migrants waited to be processed at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center on Wednesday after crossing the border into Mexico on Dec. 20 in Eagle Pass, Texas
An aerial view of immigrants wading through the Rio Grande from Mexico toward a U.S. Border Patrol processing center early on Dec. 20
Seen from the air, Texas National Guard troops watch immigrants put on dry clothes after wading through the Rio Grande from Mexico early Dec. 20, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas
The federal government had a medical tent ready just a few meters away.
After being examined by medical personnel, a man was taken away by ambulance.
“Many of these people have been waiting here for days…days before they are processed, and on the Mexican side there are thousands, tens of thousands,” the Republican congressman explained.
“They get a bracelet and are put in a line. “While they’re waiting in line, they’ll be served bean and cheese tacos so they have something to eat while they’re there.”
Migrants are allowed to leave the line at will to use the potties and drink water.
Migrants are given silver thermal blankets to keep them warm at night.
City services are suffering from the strain caused by the influx.
“The hospital has run out of beds and we are also short of medical staff,” City Administrator Ivan Morua added, adding that wait times at a hospital in Eagle Pass are four to five hours.
“Sometimes we send an ambulance and if the injuries are not life-threatening, we don’t transport them to the hospital.”
Officials did not believe they had seen the last of this wave of migrants, while Mexican officials say they see thousands more heading north.