EAGLE PASS, Texas -- The week began in Eagle Pass with rumors that large crowds of migrants might show up. On Friday, the small Texas border city was scrambling: Nearly 9,000 asylum-seekers and counting had crossed from Mexico, an international bridge remained closed and a 3-year-old boy had drowned in the Rio Grande.
"Before we would hear rumors, nothing happened," Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said. "But this time something happened."
The unfolding response in Eagle Pass, where the mayor declared an emergency, illustrates how Border Patrol agents have become overwhelmed in recent days by asylum-seekers at parts of the U.S. border with Mexico. In San Diego and El Paso, Texas, officials this week also closed border crossings so agents could help with the influx.
After a dip in illegal crossings that followed new asylum restrictions in May, President Joe Biden's administration is again on its heels. Democratic mayors and governors are seeking more relief for hosting asylum-seekers, and Republicans are seizing on the issue ahead of 2024 elections.
Traffic jammed the heart of Eagle Pass late Thursday after officials closed down one of the city's two international bridges to reroute agents elsewhere. Throughout the day, hundreds of migrants sat underneath the shade of a bridge as Border Patrol agents processed and transported them out in groups.
Mayor Rolando Salinas said about 2,000 migrants had crossed Thursday, about half as many as the day prior. But after emerging from a meeting with Texas State Police and Border Patrol agents, Salinas said he was told large numbers could continue through the weekend.
"Hopefully that's not the case," he said.
The Homeland Security Department said Wednesday it would grant Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who were in the U.S. on July 31, easing paths to work authorization. That is in addition to 242,700 Venezuelans who already had qualified for temporary status.
The administration is also sending 800 active-duty military troops to the border, adding to 2,500 National Guard members there. Border holding facilities are expanding by 3,250 people to nearly 23,000 and extending home surveillance nationwide for families awaiting initial asylum screenings.
The administration renewed pressure -- and blame -- on Congress, which has long failed to agree on comprehensive changes to the nation's immigration system. The Biden administration is now asking Congress for $4 billion in emergency funding.
ROAD TO DANGER
The journey to Eagle Pass this week ended in tragedy for some.
On Wednesday, a 3-year-old boy crossing the Rio Grande was caught in the strong current and drowned before rescue teams could save him, said Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. The body of another man in his 30s also was found by the river Thursday, Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello said.
An increase in families arriving at the border led to unacceptable conditions in two of the busiest Border Patrol sectors, a court-appointed monitor reported to a federal court last week. Dr. Paul H. Wise said children as young as 8 years old were separated from parents during processing in South Texas, a practice that has been mainly used for boys 13 to 17.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was reviewing Wise's report, noting limited, temporary separations may occur during processing for safety reasons, but they are nothing like the long-term separations under former President Donald Trump. Wise said even short-term separation can have "lasting, harmful effects."
In another development, two federal lawsuits filed over former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's decision last year to place thousands of shipping containers along the U.S.-Mexico border have been dismissed after the state said it would pay the U.S. Forest Service $2.1 million to repair environmental damage.
The Sept. 15 dismissal of the cases in U.S. District Court in Phoenix ends the fight over the double-stacked containers that were placed as a makeshift border wall in the summer of 2022.
Ducey, a Republican, sued in U.S. District Court seeking to stop the federal government from preventing placement of the containers.
The U.S. Department of Justice then sued Ducey and other Arizona officials, saying the wall interfered with federal control of the land along the international boundary. Ducey agreed in December to remove the container wall shortly before his term ended, saying it had been envisioned only as a temporary measure.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who took office in January, had criticized the container wall as a political stunt.
Information for this article was contributed by Colleen Long and Josh Funk of The Associated Press.
Migrants join hands as they cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico wait to board a bus at a make-shift processing area along the Rio Grande, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants join hands as they cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico watch a golfer from a make-shift processing area located near a golf course along the Rio Grande, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico pass under concertina wire along the Rio Grande, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico wait to board a bus at a make-shift processing area along the Rio Grande, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico walk along concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande as they move to an area for processing, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Migrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S., Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
U.S. Border Patrol agents watch Friday as migrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S. near Eagle Pass, Texas. More photos at arkansasonline.com/923pass/. (AP/Eric Gay)Gallery: Migrants at the Rio Grande
