DEL RIO, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott said as of early Tuesday evening, about 7,700 Haitian migrants remain under the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
That’s down from a high of around 16,000 last weekend.
The governor and head of the border patrol union blamed the Biden administration’s policies.
“What you see underneath the bridge, that is not humane,” said Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council.
Abbott blasted the Biden Administration’s policies and called for more resources. He said state resources will stay until the area is “under total control.”
“They have created a steel barrier preventing people from being able to cross the border. One day there were countless people coming across the border, then that very same day the Texas Department of Public Safety put up all these DPS vehicles, and suddenly, in an instant, people stopped crossing the border in this location,” Abbott said.
Gov. Abbott told reporters the state had provided $3 billion to address the issue and vowed to continue sending resources.
He was joined by the heads of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Military Department and the NBPC, just steps away from the shallow dam in the Rio Grande where thousands of migrants had been crossing for several days.
On Tuesday, nobody was crossing at that spot, while clothing, food, and trash littered the riverbank on the U.S. side.
Gov. Abbott credited that drop in crossings to a huge increase in DPS and Texas National Guard troops and vehicles at the river’s edge.
“Now that we have sealed this particular area of the border, we see the migrants now trying to penetrate other areas of the border,” said Gov. Abbott. “As a result, our strategies are shifting also.”
Some House Democrats in Austin criticized Governor Abbott’s actions.
“When it comes to immigration, that is not a state issue,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas), when KHOU 11 asked about the topic during an unrelated Monday press conference at the State Capitol.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) called for compassion.
“These people are presenting themselves for asylum,” said Rep. Hinojosa. “This is the legal way. They are not rushing our borders.”
Mayor Bruno Lozano said some migrants had been flown out of Del Rio to other cities, including Harlingen, on their way to Haiti.