Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border Saturday, making the trip along with Honduran President Xiomara Castro to the McAllen area after a week when more than 10,000 migrants a day tried to enter the country illegally.
The DHS said Mayorkas is traveling to the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas, in addition to "discussing our continued cooperation with Honduras on reducing irregular migration in a safe, orderly, and humane way," DHS said in a media advisory, reports The Washington Examiner.
"The secretary will oversee southwest border enforcement operations and highlight lawful pathways as an alternative to smugglers," the department added.
According to internal data, the Rio Grande Valley has reported the second-highest number of people processed and placed in government custody out of the nine sections divided by the Border Patrol.
As of Thursday morning, 3,239 immigrants were in custody in the district. However, thousands more immigrants have entered the country further west in Eagle Pass and Del Rio, coming across the Rio Grande since last weekend, with no end in sight for the increased migrations.
Mayorkas may also face pushback from Border Patrol agents who are under orders to "catch and release" illegal immigrants rather than detain them for court proceedings or return them to their country of origin.
Under catch and release, immigrants are released to shelters or even just on the streets, after being given a paper document about appearing in immigration court. However, the court dates typically do not happen for years.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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