Texas National Guard blocks column of illegal immigrants entering the U.S.

The Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety soldiers blocked a column of migrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border just one day before the Trump-era Title 42 policy is set to expire, amidst reports of record single-day apprehensions.

On Wednesday, Texas National Guard soldiers blocked a line of migrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border into Brownsville, Texas.

NEW: Our Fox drone over another enormous group of migrants who crossed illegally into Brownsville yesterday evening. As of yesterday, CBP sources tell us Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector was already running at 140% capacity in its facilities, and T42 hasn’t dropped yet. pic.twitter.com/GME9W5dEbV

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 10, 2023

This action came as the expiration of the Trump-era Title 42 policy approached, with sources from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reporting over 10,000 migrant apprehensions on both Monday and Tuesday, the highest single-day totals ever recorded. Drone footage from Fox News captured a massive group of migrants crossing illegally into Brownsville on Tuesday evening.

In response to the border situation, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott deployed up to 10,000 specially trained National Guard members from the Texas Tactical Border Force and 1,200 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to secure the Texas border.

Great work by Texas National Guard and Texas DPS.

Biden sent 1,500 troops to the border to do paperwork.

Texas deployed trained soldiers and troopers to take real action and respond to this crisis. https://t.co/bVMeG0geQl

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 10, 2023

These forces aim to intercept, repel, and turn back migrants attempting to enter Texas illegally, using equipment such as aircraft, boats, night vision equipment, and riot gear to identify and shut down crossing points along the border.

The Biden administration announced last week that it would send 1,500 troops for administrative and logistical functions, leaving the Border Patrol to actively police the border and apprehend migrants. On Wednesday, the Biden administration reversed course by reinstating a Trump-era immigration rule that disqualifies migrants from applying for asylum in the U.S. if they failed to first apply for asylum in other countries they traveled through, such as Mexico.

Immigration officials have observed a steady surge in illegal migration in the weeks leading up to the expiration of Title 42. On Monday, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz reported that Border Patrol averaged nearly 9,000 migrant apprehensions per day, with over 7,000 "gotaways," illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. but could not be apprehended.

Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration of having a slow response to the border crisis and warned of disastrous effects on national security due to the removal of Title 42 authorities.