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Anonymous ID: 581ed2 March 28, 2019, 11:39 a.m. No.5945295   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>5386 >>5445 >>5462 >>5745 >>5909

Federal authorities have shut down all highway Border Patrol checkpoints in New Mexico, re-allocating agents to deal with the influx of migrants from south of the border.

 

The checkpoints—all within 100 miles of the border—are meant to be a last line of defense against people seeking to enter the U.S. illegally.

 

That safety net has now been compromised.

 

“We were told to go ahead and close down all the checkpoints,” one official told Texas Monthly anonymously. “It’s really out of control, it’s bad.”

 

A total of six checkpoints have been closed, including all five in New Mexico, and one in West Texas, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

‘Unprecedented’ Border Security Crisis

 

The move comes after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officials announced in a press conference Wednesday extraordinary steps being taken in response to “an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis.”

 

Unusual new measures include re-assigning up to 750 Customs and Border Patrol Officers from ports of entry along the southwest border, who “will soon be supporting Border Patrol with care and custody of migrants.”

 

“The United States Border Patrol (USBP) continues to apprehend illegal alien families and unaccompanied children in steadily increasing numbers. To process and ensure appropriate care for those in custody, resources including personnel have been diverted from other border security priorities,” a CBP spokesperson stated on Monday, according to the Texas Tribune.

 

“This shifting of resources and personnel will have a detrimental impact at all Southwest border ports of entry,” the CBP said in a statement. “CBP will have to close lanes, resulting in increased wait times for commercial shipments and travelers.”

 

Immigration officials were cited by the Texas Tribune as saying that resources from the checkpoints are “intended as a temporary measure.”

‘Overwhelming the Entire System’

 

Earlier, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told a press conference in El Paso that a dramatic increase in illegal crossings along the Southwest border was a major strain on law enforcement resources.

 

“The surge numbers are just overwhelming the entire system,” McAleenan said on March 27, according to the El Paso Times.

More:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/border-patrol-shuts-all-checkpoints-in-new-mexico_2857311.html