SAN ANTONIO — Citing a "severe" surge of migrants arriving in the community, the mayor of the border city of Eagle Pass on Tuesday issued an emergency declaration expected to last at least a week.
The declaration frees up access to additional state resources for Eagle Pass to accommodate arriving migrants. The city did not specify how many individuals have arrived at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stations in the area, but CBP officials said they were suspending vehicle processing elsewhere in order to help U.S. Border Patrol with apprehending migrants who may be entering the country through illegal means.
"We will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants," CBP said in a statement, adding they would "maximize consequences" against those entering the U.S. illegally.
CBP officials have not released monthly data on how many migrants were encountered along the southern border since July, but that month saw an overall increase—more than 183,000, compared to about 145,000 in June but far lower than the 206,701 and 211,999 encounters in May and April, respectively.
"The City of Eagle Pass is committed to the safety and wellbeing of our local citizens," Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. is quoted as saying in his office's declaration.
City Council has the ability to potentially renew and extend the emergency declaration.
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