SAN ANTONIO — Governor Greg Abbott gave remarks from Del Rio to address border security and the ongoing humanitarian crisis at an international bridge.
The governor was joined by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, Texas Military Department Adjutant General Tracy Norris, and National Border Patrol Council President (NBPC) Brandon Judd. During the briefing, Abbott laid the blame at the feet of the Biden administration for the tens of thousands of migrants being held under a bridge in Del Rio.
"Because the Biden administration is doing nothing to secure the border, it has been the state of Texas that has had to step up and address this challenge," Abbott said.
The governor outlined the "unprecedented steps" state authorities have taken to prevent more migrants from crossing the border into Del Rio, including "arresting and jailing" migrants.
"It's not the Biden administration 'catch and release' policy, it's the Texas 'arrest and jail' policy," Abbott said.
The governor also explained the state using law enforcement vehicles to create a "steel barrier preventing people from being able to cross the border."
"Now that we have sealed this particular area of the border, we have seen migrants try to penetrate other areas of the border," Abbott said.
As of Monday evening, city officials said over 10,000 Haitian migrants are still encamped under a Del Rio border bridge, down from nearly 15,000 last week. On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Bruno Lozano said 5,680 migrants remain under the bridge.
Our KENS 5 crew at the scene Wednesday saw the Schertz Fire Department assisting. We also reached out to the San Antonio Fire Department who said, “The members from San Antonio Fire Department are deployed as part of the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force by the state to provide medical treatment for heat and minor field injuries for State Law Enforcement, and Texas National Guard partners as needed.”
Federal, state, and other local agencies are all involved with the effort to assist in relocating them. Lt. Chris Olivares with DPS said hundreds of DPS troopers have been deployed to Del Rio to help with the crisis.