LUKEVILLE, Ariz. — A U.S.-Mexico border crossing in Arizona closed entirely Monday because so many migrants are crossing from Mexico into the United States, authorities needed to divert resources to other areas of the border to help with the surge.
That did not stop hundreds of migrants from crossing the border near a breach in the fence near the Lukeville Port of Entry on Monday. A video posted on YouTube by Jeff Rainforth shows group after group of migrants walking through an area that would normally be used to process border traffic.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Migrantes vistos en video viral cruzando la frontera para entregarse a los agentes, dicen funcionarios
What the video didn't show was border agents in front of and behind the group, leading them to an area to be processed. All of the migrants had turned themselves in to agents to seek asylum, border officials said, which is permitted under international law.
The migrants were walking in a single line, calmly following agents toward an area where they could be processed.
A videographer recorded the scores of people walking through the closed traffic lanes north of the port of entry Monday morning, but a Customs and Border Protection spokesman said they weren't coming through the port of entry.
12News sent the video to U.S. Customs and Border Protection who said it appeared the migrants were able to get through a breach in the fence east of the port of entry.
Border officials said they received no reports of a breach at the port of entry gate.
Immigration officials have moved to using the CBP One app for people to ask for asylum, but getting an appointment is like winning the lottery.
An average of 3,140 people in vehicles and 184 pedestrians entered the U.S. daily in Lukeville during October, according to the U.S. Transportation Department’s latest figures.
Lukeville is in the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which was the single busiest region for border crossings in October. Staffing cuts to areas that process legal trade and travel are the latest response to demands for processing people who cross the border illegally, often to seek asylum, the Associated Press reported.
“As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well. We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes such as CBP One™ and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” CBP said.
By the end of the day Monday, border agents were using the tented area at the crossing to process some of the hundreds of migrants seeking asylum in the Tucson sector.
