Frontlines reported from Eagle Pass, Texas, during the border crisis where authorities declared a state of emergency after CBP agents encountered thousands of illegal immigrants within a two-day period. — Image: Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill / Flickr
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol survey the Rio Grande River on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Turning Point USA’s Frontlines team reported from Eagle Pass, Texas, where authorities declared a state of emergency after Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents encountered thousands of illegal immigrants over a two-day period.

We're at another Rio Grande hotspot near Eagle Pass, a main port of entry. Behind me, it's littered with personal items, children's belongings, clothes, shoes, lighters, T-shirts, shorts, and more. Belongings stretch to the riverbank as migrants shed them before crossing. Notable… pic.twitter.com/aUZG8Qg1Vp
— Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) September 22, 2023

While in Eagle Pass, the Frontlines team accompanied the Texas Department of Public Service (DPS) Aircraft Operations Division on a survey flight to monitor the actions of those crossing the border illegally. Lieutenant Pilot Donny Kindred told Frontlines that if the federal government does not address the illegal immigration crisis, it would take just ten years for the United States to be akin to a “third-world country.”

“We don’t have the infrastructure to take thousands of people a day into just Texas alone,” Kindred told Frontlines. “If the federal government doesn’t get a handle on the situation … it’s a very good possibility in my opinion, in ten years, we’ll be a third-world country.”

In the air with Texas DPS. Here’s a look at their thermal camera. White = hot on this setting. This helps them see illegals invading their way through the brush at night. #EaglePass @TPUSA | @FrontlinesTPUSA | @charliekirk11 pic.twitter.com/wk3qQVkwsY
— Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) September 23, 2023

Lieutenant Kindred, who has been in law enforcement for 34 years, explained that most CBP agents have been “pulled from their duties in the field to go work at processing facilities [that are] overwhelmed.” He added that these are the “absolute worst” conditions he has ever seen at the southern border.

CBP splits the U.S.-Mexico border in southern Texas into five sectors, the most active being the Del Rio and Rio Grande Sectors. Eagle Pass is located in the Del Rio Sector. Each sector is comprised of several stations and processing facilities. According to the agency, the Del Rio Sector covers “53,063 square miles of Texas, and reaches 300 miles into Texas from the U.S.-Mexico border” and consists primarily of “farms and ranches, and are sparsely populated.” CBP notes that this makes the Del Rio Sector a “major staging area for narcotic and alien smuggling operations.”

I spoke with Rep Tony Gonzales tonight – he confirmed that it is a serious issue.

They are being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers – just hit an all-time high and still growing!

Am going to visit Eagle Pass later this week to see what’s going on for myself.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 26, 2023

Kindred told Frontlines that smugglers differ from most migrants because they actively attempt to evade law enforcement. “We’re probably capturing around 30 percent” of these individuals, he added.

“The amount of human smuggling is just unbelievable,” Kindred explained. “We’ve had so many accidents where these smugglers just don’t have any regard for the motoring public in Texas, anybody, and they do anything to try to get away from us, we’ve had so many [vehicle] fatality accidents from them running into people.”

Video footage obtained by Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales recently revealed to the public shows the overcrowded conditions in the processing center in Eagle Pass, Texas where more than 4,500 illegal immigrants were in custody. Kindred explained that in order to staff these facilities, CBP agents were forced to leave posts unpatrolled to help process the thousands upon thousands of new arrivals, who are given “notice to appear” (NTA) documents with a court date listed for several months or years in the future. A CBP agent told Frontlines in May 2023 that 90% of illegals given NTAs are no-shows for their court dates.

Kindred told Frontlines that CBP agents’ morale is “not very high right now,” because “they’ve been pulled from the job they signed up to do — catching illegals in the country — and they’re at the processing centers having to process these individuals and, for the most part, turn them loose, and that’s not what they signed up to do.”

NEW: Video courtesy of Texas Congressman @RepTonyGonzales shows the inside of a Border Patrol tent processing center in Eagle Pass on Friday when he visited. He says the facility capacity is 1,000, but when he was there, 4,600 migrants were in custody. pic.twitter.com/fMIN8JKrGR
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 25, 2023

Kindred said that, in his personal opinion, the millions of individuals who have entered the U.S. illegally and have been given NTAs for several years in the future should also be given a “pseudo-social security card” and work visa that would allow them to gain a taxable income. He expressed concern that American taxpayers have already spent upwards of billions of dollars handling the immigration crisis.

BREAKING: Frontlines has obtained previously unreleased drone footage, courtesy of @jaeson_jones, former DPS anti-terrorism chief and now the head of Border 911. The footage reveals cartel activity 1000FT the Aravica, AZ border. Cartel members are outfitted in full paramilitary… pic.twitter.com/0kCrA3YNxq
— Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) September 23, 2023

While in the air with Texas’ DPS Aircraft Operations Division, Frontlines witnessed pilots actively monitor a vehicle suspected of trafficking illegal immigrants. This suspect later attempted to evade law enforcement, leading to a high-speed chase, which Frontlines captured aerially.

We're actively monitoring a vehicle suspected of trafficking illegal aliens. The rear suspension appears to be sagging, suggesting an unusually heavy load for a dodge charger. #EaglePass @TPUSA | @FrontlinesTPUSA | @charliekirk11 pic.twitter.com/usvB1joghX
— Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) September 23, 2023

“The people that are coming across right now breaking our laws, knowingly, to get in the country, those are illegal invaders, is what they are, because they’re bypassing the system,” Kindred told Frontlines. “They’re knowing breaking our laws coming here, so, if you’re going to break our laws knowingly, what kind of respect are you gonna have for any other law going forward.”

While following the suspect Border Patrol activated their lights after witnessing a moving violation, prompting the suspect to flee at high speed. They deployed a spike strip ahead, forcing the driver to slow down, allowing the illegal aliens to escape on foot. Border Patrol… pic.twitter.com/x6Enrb2ZrB
— Kalen D’Almeida (@fromkalen) September 23, 2023