A train filled with migrants from Mexico heading towards the U.S. southern border was halted in Monclova, much to the disappointment of those onboard. The cargo train, which had picked up hundreds of migrants in Monterrey, was stopped just 150 miles shy of its final destination of Piedras Negras, close to where illegal crossings into Eagle Pass, Texas, occur daily. A video shared on social media by Auden B. Cabello, a self-proclaimed citizen journalist documenting the migrant journey, shows the train packed with migrants, with nearly 100 individuals standing on the ground. Cabello noted that despite Mexican authorities being on high alert, they have done little to prevent the migrants from continuing their journey. It is a cause for concern that if the train reaches its destination, the migrants will attempt to cross into the U.S. through Eagle Pass. Over the weekend, another freight train carrying migrants from Zacatecas, Mexico, was captured on video, with the migrants cheering and hanging off the sides of the cargo cars. Despite the U.S. government’s repeated message to migrants not to come, they continue to make the journey in large numbers. Border patrols along the southern border are overwhelmed with the staggering amount of illegal crossings. According to sources from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were more than 35,000 migrant encounters between Friday and Monday, averaging nearly 9,000 encounters per day. Last month, the Rio Grande Valley sector in Texas alone had over 20,000 migrants in Border Patrol custody, including families with young children and unaccompanied minors. Many of the families stopped in the area were released with future court dates. To alleviate the burden on border towns, Texas has implemented a busing program to transport migrants to “sanctuary cities” such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. Texas Governor Greg Abbott argues that it is time for these sanctuary cities to share the responsibility of illegal immigration. He pointed out that Texas has already bused over 35,000 migrants to these cities, including over 11,300 to D.C., over 13,300 to NYC, over 6,700 to Chicago, over 2,600 to Philadelphia, over 1,000 to Denver, and over 480 to LA.
