Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will visit the Del Rio sector in Texas Wednesday, where the number of illegal immigrants in custody has hit 169% capacity, according to internal data exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Mayorkas will be accompanied by Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens while meeting with agents in the Del Rio sector to receive “operational updates,” DHS said in a press release Tuesday evening. Border Patrol nationwide had roughly 20,000 migrants in their custody as of Wednesday morning, according to the internal data.
Internal Border Patrol data obtained by Jennie Taer/Daily Caller News Foundation
In addition to the Del Rio sector, Arizona’s Tucson sector is at 175% capacity and the nationwide capacity is at 90%, according to the data. Eagle Pass, Texas, which is located in the Del Rio sector, has seen a large influx of illegal crossings in recent days, forcing the shutdown of a port to vehicle inspections.
The Tucson sector canceled all training activities, closed a vehicle checkpoint and shut down its social media updates, according to internal agency communications recently obtained by the DCNF.
Additionally, the agency asked northern and coastal border agents to help colleagues at the southern border by ramping up virtual processing of migrants encountered after they’ve crossed illegally from Mexico, according to an internal agency memo obtained by the DCNF.
Neither DHS nor Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immediately responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
Jennie Taer on November 29, 2023
