The Rio Grande Valley’s Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas, up to now has offered migrants released from federal custody a place to wait as they make their plans to travel to their final destinations in America. As of yesterday, July 26, however, the Center has had to close its doors to newcomers, due to an overwhelming number of aliens coming across the border in the Rio Grand sector.
In just the past week, Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 20,000 illegal migrants crossing the border in Rio Grande sector. In the past 10 months, the total is 330,000, up 478% from last year. Combine the sheer numbers with the large percentage of migrants testing positive for the Coronavirus (27 percent of unaccompanied children, for example) and the Center’s administrators have concluded they cannot deal with the influx.
“We told Border Patrol to hold drop-offs to give us a chance to have space,” said Sister Norma Pimentel, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which runs the center. She then admitted, however, that even after the request, agents were continuing to drop off migrants well into the evening. A reporter for the Border Report website noted that a security guard posted at the front door was seen preventing migrant families from entering, but some appeared to be directed to a side entrance where they were met by volunteers.
The downtown facility is designed to hold up to 1,200 people, but because of COVID-19 safety protocols, the actual number of migrants they can safely admit is limited.
The high rates of infection (overall, nearby Brownsville has a rate of 15 percent) are affecting the Border Patrol itself. Recently, 87 agents working in the Rio Grande Valley and neighboring Laredo have tested positive for the disease.
For more, see the Washington Examiner.