Karen Gleason
David Rosser, a long-time resident of “the Vega” along the Rio Grande in southernmost Val Verde County, says he’s seeing more migrants in the area, but added they aren’t causing him any problems.
“I’ve been seeing the Border Patrol, with their vans, and the sheriff’s office, loading ’em up, hour after hour after hour. Nothing right here by my place, but down there around Bordelon’s old place,” Rosser told the 830 Times earlier this week.
“In fact, I stopped the other day, ’cause they were walking this way (gesturing toward Amistad Dam end of road), three or four or them, and they were from Venezuela, and I told them, ‘Hey, if you’re looking for town, it’s that way’,” Rosser said, gesturing in the opposite direction.
“This happened twice, with two different groups,” he added.
“And I said, ‘Just sit down. Border Patrol’ll come get you in a little while’,” Rosser said with a laugh.
Like the seasonal flooding of the Rio Grande or his dog getting into the tomato plants in his garden, Rosser takes the latest migrant surge in stride.
He said he hasn’t had any problems with migrants on his property, where he has lived for nearly 30 years.
“None, whatsoever. I haven’t had any problems,” he said.
Statistics available on the Customs and Border Protection’s web site, https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters/usbp-sw-border-apprehensions, show sharp increases in the numbers of single adult encounters, family unit encounters and unaccompanied alien children encounters in the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector between February 2020 and February 2021.
According to the web site, the Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector has seen a 339 percent increase in single adult encounters from February 2020 to February 2021, the highest percentage increase along the country’s southern border with Mexico.
The web site also show the Del Rio Sector has seen a 141 percent year-to-year increase in the number of unaccompanied alien children and a 52 percent increase in the number of family units encountered.
A Wednesday post on the sector’s Facebook page reads, “In February, our agents encountered approximately 11,300 people. With already more than 9,500 apprehensions in the month of March, including 1,250 in the last two days, we anticipate surpassing last month’s numbers later this week.”
