(NewsNation) — Border officials are now training for an expected surge in migrant crossings before President-elect Donald Trump takes the White House.
The Texas National Guard is holding exercises in conjunction with the Texas Department of Public Safety along the Southern border in Eagle Pass on Tuesday.
These proactive measures began last week with groups split to cover more ground across the vast Southern border.
“We want to conduct these exercises to send a clear message for anyone who is thinking about crossing or entering the city of Texas that we’re gonna make it very difficult,” Lieutenant Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety told NewsNation.
Mass migration response training is occurring across the Texas border, including in Rio Grande Valley and El Paso.
Earlier Tuesday, a group of more than 100 migrants including some from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, crossed illegally into Eagle Plass on federal land; rendering the Texas Department of Safety (DPS) officials ineffective.
Across the weekend, Texas DPS troops caught 154 migrants and 20 unaccompanied children crossing into Rio Grande illegally. They were handed over to the U.S. Border Patrol after crossing through federal and private land without barriers or landowner permission.
