Chaos erupted again at the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday as a group of over 100 illegal immigrants, all men, attempted to illegally enter the United States by overwhelming the Texas National Guard and storming through the border fence near El Paso, Texas.
According to eyewitness reports given to The New York Post, the tense situation unfolded amid what officials are calling a “spring surge” that has seen thousands and thousands more more migrants mass at the border recently, hoping to gain access to the United States.
Video footage captured the harrowing moments when a large group of mostly single adult men rushed a line of just five Texas National Guard troops in tactical gear attempting to control the swelling crowd of around 600 migrants.
With gloved hands, the migrants are seen ripping away sections of the razor wire-topped border fencing as the overwhelmed guardsmen stood in defensive formation, rifles in hand.
Despite outnumbering the troops, the migrants met firm resistance as they pushed against and knocked over guards in their desperation to storm the border.
“Get the f–k back,” one soldier can be heard yelling at the increasingly chaotic scene, as some migrants raised their hands in surrender while others frantically scrambled through, slipping between the guards’ legs.
“We have women and children, we’re hungry,” one man is heard screaming, though most children were being kept in a separate group being prepared for processing into the United States under the Biden administration’s controversial admission policies for illegal immigrants.
A group of over 100 migrants attempted to enter the US illegally by rushing a border wall Thursday, breaking through razor wire and knocking over guards in the process. https://t.co/uxx0lopRzH pic.twitter.com/Lp4jI0fONN
— New York Post (@nypost) March 22, 2024
Hundreds of illegal immigrants poured across the Texas border this morning after a border fence broke outside El Paso. pic.twitter.com/J2Tn5aWCwf
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 21, 2024
The brazen breach triggered a larger National Guard response to secure the area known as Gate 36 near the El Paso highway.
Officials confirmed to local news outlets that mob who had stormed through the fence was ultimately pushed back into Mexico, though some were arrested.
“The migrants that we encountered here today at Gate 36 will be taken to a processing center,” Border Patrol agent Orlando Marrero told reporters, reflecting how many illegal immigrants successfully cross and are admitted despite such violent clashes.
Indeed, the city’s own migrant data showed over 700 people were released into the U.S. interior on Thursday alone, either paroled or to pursue asylum claims. Between 2,000-2,500 more remained in custody nightly in the El Paso sector.
Multiple studies have shown that almost all migrants released into the U.S. with court dates disappear from the system and become illegal immigrants.
The “spring surge” descends each year as warming temperatures enable longer treks from Central and South America to the southern border, swelling numbers that Republican leaders swiftly condemned as “unsustainable chaos” caused by President Biden’s policies.
Texas vowed to crack down under new hardline state laws against illegal entry, with Gov. Greg Abbott declaring all migrants involved in the border breach would face criminal trespass and destruction of property charges – underscoring the escalating tensions surrounding unchecked flow of illegal immigration.
Both a localized security crisis and a symbol of polarizing national debates over immigration, the striking visuals of masses overwhelming outmatched border personnel inject new fuel into the raging political fight on the U.S.-Mexico border.
With no resolution in sight from the Biden administration, all indications point to the prospect of more explosive mobs in the days and months ahead.
The Horn editorial team