Customs and Border Protection agents in Rio Grande Valley have apprehended 494 migrants that were travelling in three large groups.
The illegal migrants were detained in Hidalgo and Starr Counties.
There were 130 unaccompanied children within the groups.
According to a press release from CBP, “Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station agents encountered two large groups totaling 373 migrants in Starr County. The groups were comprised of 101 family members, 130 unaccompanied children, and 142 single adults. The migrants were from Cuba, and various Central and South American countries.”
“Additionally, McAllen Border Patrol Station agents encountered another large group totaling 121 migrants in Hidalgo County. The group consisted of 30 family members, 70 unaccompanied children, and 21 single adults. The migrants were from Georgia, Ecuador, and Central American countries,” the press release continued.
CBP added that over 130 large groups have been encountered by agents in Rio Grande Valley alone since October 2021.
Within those groups, over 21,000 migrants who had entered the nation illegally have been apprehended.
“The logistics required to transport and process groups of this size continues to place a strain on manpower and resources, as they are often encountered in desolate areas inaccessible to large transport vehicles,” CBP said.
Any group of more than 100 migrants is considered a “large group” by the agency.
In April, it was revealed that Border Patrol stopped at least 23 people listed on the Terrorist Screening Database while crossing the southern border in 2021.
Fox News obtained the information through a records request with Customs and Border Protection.
“Four were in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, 4 in Del Rio Sector, 3 in El Paso Sector, 2 in Tucson Sector, 2 in Yuma Sector, 4 in El Centro Sector and 4 in San Diego Sector,” Fox News reports.
The report noted that Republican lawmakers have been seeking to make the information public.
“Reporting indicates that multiple individuals with terrorist ties have been recently apprehended after illegally crossing the border, and that such encounters may be increasing,” Reps. James Comer and John Katko, who serve as ranking members on the Oversight and Homeland Security committees respectively, wrote to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“The American people deserve to know whether President Biden’s weak border policies are allowing terrorists to enter our homeland,” they said.
