In an attempt to enter the US, a group of at least 1,000 migrants rushed the Paso Del Norte bridge in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, according to footage.
While sources at the border claim that the attempts to stop the mostly Venezuelan group of migrants from moving ahead were unsuccessful, crowd control tactics were deployed when they did.
In videos, migrants of various ages can be seen advancing near the border barrier, some waving their hands to spur on the others.
A banner that reads “Feliz Viaje,” or happy travels, is visible above the moment the migrants rushed over the bridge and started racing for freedom in another video.
A third video showed migrants congregating on a smaller bridge and others forming a line down the riverbed.
On the US side of the bridge, Customs and Border Protection sent more personnel, while on the Mexican side, the military made an effort to control the situation.
Many CBP personnel were lined up behind a barricade and razor wire in front of the bridge’s cameras that were set up to feed footage of the significant buildup at the border.
In FY 2022, there were over 2.3 million interactions with migrants; FY 2023 is on track to break those records.
Republicans have attributed the rise in encounters to the Biden administration, rolling back Trump-era initiatives like the “Remain in Mexico” policy, stopping wall building, and limiting ICE operations in the interior as causes of the issue.
In response, the Biden administration has said that Republicans have refused to embrace comprehensive immigration reform proposed on the first day of the administration and greater border financing.
President Biden once more pleaded with Republicans to adopt specific provisions of the plan during his State of the Union address, but members have objected to the inclusion of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which Democrats have said is essential.
