(Center Square) – Several counties in southern Texas have issued disaster declarations as public health authority Title 42 nears its closure.

The declaration was made as a large group of 15,000 Venezuelans and 15,000 Haitians arrived in the Rio Grande Valley seeking admission to the United States. Another 23,000 are reportedly heading to Del Rio.

Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez in the Rio Grande Valley issued “We have received credible information from Customs and Border Protection officials that a large migrant group is searching the border for a border crossing point,” the disaster declaration said. He said the decision was made to declare a state of emergency “as a first step to ensure all available resources”.

This follows the initial disaster declaration filed by Kinney County on April 21, 2021 and the state disaster declaration issued by Governor Greg Abbott on May 31, 2021. About 30 counties have issued disaster declarations in 2021, most of which are still in effect. Abbott amended the state disaster declaration on April 21, 2023, and later issued a declaration and executive order on border crises.

Citing Mexican government estimates, Cortez said about 10,000 people camped directly across the border county in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, waiting to cross the border.

“The surge in cross-border migrants is a serious public safety and security concern, including, but not limited to, the risk of injury and loss of life and property,” he said.

“We have determined that special measures must be taken to protect everyone entering and leaving the county,” he said.

Adjacent Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino also issued the disaster declaration “in response to the imminent threat of extensive or severe damage, injury, loss of life or property from a border security disaster.”

His proclamation cites a Texas proclamation that said, “The surge in individuals illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border has created an imminent threat of disaster to many Texas counties.”

He did so after the city of Brownsville issued a disaster declaration more than a week ago and overwhelmed border guards in the last week of April, allowing 15,000, mostly Venezuelans, to enter the country illegally in a week. .

Since then, RGV sector chief Gloria Chavez has report Investigators said they encountered 8,078 illegal aliens in the first weekend of May, including 16 smuggling cases. In the last weekend of April, 6,371 people were arrested, including 10 smuggling cases. And this was before Title 42 of the Public Health Authority ended his May 11th.

By May 9, the CBP had detained more than 27,000 foreigners who had just entered the RGV in Texas illegally from Mexico, a local border patrol officer told Center Square. It says.

“Of that 27,000 cases, just over 5,000 are pending the next stage of processing,” the representative said. The attorney said, referring to the nine U.S. Customs and Border Protection departments along the southwestern border (five of which are in Texas), “every department is at nearly 150 percent capacity.”

Since then, on May 11, agents told Center Square that 15,000 Haitians are expected to break through the Anzalduas Bridge port of entry. Staff from the Army National Guard, Texas Department of Public Safety, Border Patrol, and Field Operations Service were all “on standby” and processing was halted. When asked what the rendition meant, the agent replied that he was preparing “violence.”

Further west, Del Rio prepares for a collision. The police station issued an alert on May 11 saying that daily arrests had increased from 800 to 1,400, with 800 detained. “Unconfirmed intelligence reports suggest that about 23,000 migrants are probably heading to Del Rio, but they are traveling in groups of less than 1,000.”

The announcements came after the mayor of El Paso declared a state of emergency over the majority of single men of military age. remain homeless The streets of downtown and the Texas DPS continue to fight cartel and gang-related crime originating at the border.

Governor Greg Abbott sent the Texas National Guard to RGV and El Paso, blaming President Joe Biden for causing the crisis.

He said Texas is “becoming overrun by our own federal government.” Texas is being weakened by the federal government and efforts to secure its borders. Our ability to secure our borders is only hampered by Joe Biden and his open border policy. ”

Nonetheless, he said, “Texas is doing more to defend its southern border than any other state in the United States.”