BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Texas to deploy ‘strike teams’ following migrant deaths

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — Texas Governor Gregg Abbott is vowing to deploy at least five “strike teams” of Department of Public Safety (DPS) agents to strengthen border security following the discovery of 51 dead migrants inside a truck on the outskirts of San Antonio Monday, in what has been deemed a failed smuggling attempt.

According to the DPS, each team will be made up of 20 troopers who will be focused on how to “detect, deter, and apprehend” migrants trying to illegally cross the border.

“We’re going to deploy strike teams of DPS special agents to conduct surveillance and look for these cloned vehicles, stolen vehicles that are staged along the highways used to smuggle people … and also identify stash houses, which is very important to disrupting Mexican cartel operations,” Texas DPS Executive Director and Col. Steven McCraw said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Additionally, Abbott called Monday’s tragedy the deadliest migrant smuggling incident in United States history and called on President Joe Biden to “reinstate Trump immigration strategies.”

“The way the Biden Administration is not enforcing immigration laws is attracting people and enticing people to make this very dangerous trip, causing them to lose their lives,” Abbott said. “Biden is doing nothing,” he added.

Abbott also talked up Texas’ response to illegal border crossings, citing a strategy to increase the presence of officers at border areas as well as more checkpoints.

Biden, in a statement Tuesday, called the incident “horrifying and heartbreaking” and vowed to crack down on multibillion-dollar criminal smuggling enterprises that have helped fuel a record number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border since he took office in January 2021.

He also condemned those attempting to make the event political, saying “exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy.”

The deaths highlighted the challenge of controlling migrant crossings for Biden, a Democrat who came to office pledging to reverse some of the hard-line immigration policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

The number of people found crossing the border illegally is at or near the highest in about two decades.

Republicans have criticized Biden’s border strategy ahead of the midterm congressional elections in November.

Reuters contributed to this story.

Immigration

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Mist

la

58°F Mist Feels like 58°
Wind
5 mph SSW
Humidity
92%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
52°F Cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
5 mph W
Precip
7%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Crescent