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EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Immigrants Cross The Rio Grande By The Hundreds Every Day. A Handful Of Border Agents Are There To Meet Them

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• Hundreds of illegal migrants approached law enforcement officials around McAllen, Texas, Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning, exclusive photos taken by the Daily Caller News Foundation show.
• Smugglers paddled migrants across the Rio Grande River so they could illegally enter the U.S. where officials collected biometric data before directing them to a Customs and Border Protection facility a few miles away. 
• On a separate occasion, at least 200 illegal migrants approached law enforcement officials in groups of 15 to 20 around 20 miles from McAllen, Texas, early Thursday morning. 

RIO GRANDE VALLEY — Exclusive photos taken by the Daily Caller News Foundation show law enforcement officials encountering hundreds of illegal migrants on two separate occasions in the Rio Grande Valley area of south Texas Wednesday.

A handful of Hidalgo County Constable officials encountered around 130 illegal migrants crossing the Rio Grande River into Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, Wednesday evening. In a separate incident in the early hours of Thursday morning, over 200 illegal migrants approached law enforcement officials, including two Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, Texas State Troopers and local officers on a public road near a baseball field in La Joya, Texas.

An official with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office gathers biometric data from illegal immigrants shortly after they were smuggled into the U.S. in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

An official with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office shows a notepad used to gather biometric data from illegal immigrants shortly after they were smuggled into the U.S. in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants make their way to a processing facility after they were smuggled into the U.S. and officials with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office gathered biometrical data from them before releasing them in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Hidalgo County Constable officials encountered over 130 migrants who were illegally smuggled into the U.S. Wednesday in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas. A few CBP agents arrived, and the DCNF was told it could not photograph, audio or video record the agents’ interactions with the illegal migrants.

After smugglers paddled the illegal migrants across the Rio Grande River in an inflatable raft, they climbed up the riverbank through thick brush and were directed to wait on a dirt road between the constable’s vehicles. Officials collected biometric data from the migrants including country of origin, age and gender then directed the illegal migrants to a CBP processing facility a few miles away.

Illegal migrants make their way to a processing facility after they were smuggled into the U.S. and after officials with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office gathered biometrical data in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants make their way to a processing facility after they were smuggled into the U.S. and after officials with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office gathered biometrical data in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants make their way to a processing facility after they were smuggled into the U.S. and after officials with the Hidalgo County Constable’s office gathered biometrical data from them in Rincon Village near McAllen, Texas, on March 24, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Law enforcement officials, including two CBP agents, three National Guardsmen, one local police officer and a handful of state police officers encountered over 200 illegal migrants from around 1:30 until 4:00 a.m. Thursday morning in La Joya, Texas.

Officials exclusively told the Daily Caller News Foundation that this is what their typical night has looked like for months and that the illegal migrants would likely be taken to a processing center or facility in McAllen, Texas, nearly 20 miles away from where they were encountered.

Illegal migrants emerged from the brush in consistent waves of groups of around 15 people and approached law enforcement officials until over 200 were lined up and sitting on the side of the road. CBP officers collected information from them and reviewed documentation if they had it, while local officials handed out masks and water bottles.

Illegal migrants walk towards law enforcement officials who gathered biometrical data from them before transporting them to a processing facility in La Joya, Texas, on March 25, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants sit in a line and wait to be processed by law enforcement officials who gathered biometrical data from them before transporting them to a processing facility in La Joya, Texas, on March 25, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants sit in a line and wait to be processed by law enforcement officials who gathered biometrical data from them before transporting them to a processing facility in La Joya, Texas, on March 25, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants walk towards law enforcement officials who gathered biometrical data from them before transporting them to a processing facility in La Joya, Texas, on March 25, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

Illegal migrants walk towards law enforcement officials who gathered biometrical data from them before transporting them to a processing facility in La Joya, Texas, on March 25, 2021. (Kaylee Greenlee – Daily Caller News Foundation)

CBP encountered nearly 700 unaccompanied minors Wednesday and announced that over 5,000 were in the agency’s custody while 11,900 are in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, an Administration for Children and Families spokesperson announced Thursday. CBP encountered over 100,000 illegal immigrants including more than 9,000 unaccompanied migrant minors in February, according to the agency.