Immigration

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A little girl from Panama born with heart problems died in Border Patrol custody Wednesday, the second death of a child from Latin America in U.S. government custody in two weeks.

Though the number of people crossing the Southwest border was slightly higher last month compared to March, on the whole, fewer migrants attempted to enter the country in April 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

SAN JUAN — Bishop Daniel E. Flores wants the media to keep it real considering immigration.

HARLINGEN — Shelters here are housing groups of migrants as they make their way north to pursue asylum cases.

Less than a day after the expiration of Title 42, the public health policy that for three years stymied the flow of migrants into the United States, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos declared a local state of disaster Friday in anticipation of a large influx of migrants passing through the city.

On Thursday afternoon, several hours before the official end of Title 42 at 10:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, no one seemed to know quite what to expect with the policy’s end, this despite many predictions of a massive surge of migrants poised to overwhelm authorities at the Brownsville port-of-entry and other crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Thursday afternoon, several hours before the official end of Title 42 at 10:59 p.m. Central Standard Time, no one seemed to know quite what to expect with the policy’s end, this despite many predictions of a massive surge of migrants poised to overwhelm authorities at the Brownsville port-of-entry and other crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez issued a disaster declaration Thursday afternoon, citing “credible information about a potential migrant surge” following the expiration of Title 42 expected this evening.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, whose district includes Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, and Willacy counties and eastern Hidalgo County, announced the allocation of $38.2 million in funding from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian Program through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The Brownsville man whose SUV struck a group of immigrants waiting for a bus on Sunday is well known to police, has an extensive rap sheet and is being held on $3.6 million in bonds at the Brownsville city jail, Police Chief Felix Sauceda said Monday.