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Local law enforcement agencies partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol at Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville on Tuesday for an exercise simulating the emergency response to an actual attempt by large numbers of migrants to storm the bridge and enter into the United States illegally.
The practice drill took place in the context of swelling numbers of migrants arriving at the border as the expiration date for Title 42 (May 11) approaches. Title 42 authorizes the federal government to rapidly quickly expel migrants and asylum seekers in a public health emergency. It was enacted broadly by the Trump administration in March 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also taking part in the exercise were dozens of officers from from the Brownsville Police Department, Brownsville Fire Department, Cameron County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety, as well as members of the Texas Army National Guard.
Guard Humvees and sheriff’s department and Brownsville police vehicles blocked access to the bridge from International Boulevard, East Elizabeth Street and West University Avenue in preparation for the drill, which began about 2 p.m. with the wailing of a police siren. Vehicle traffic from Matamoros was allowed to continue to cross for a few more minutes until it too was halted.
At about 2:15 p.m. CBP personnel closed a chain link gate blocking the southbound vehicle lanes, two CBP officers standing guard. Soon southbound pedestrian access was blocked as well. A CBP officer driving a red forklift moved into position two tall, steel structures laced with razor wire to serve as a further deterrent in the event of a breach of the primary gate.
At 2:19 p.m. a CBP officer with a bullhorn announced to imaginary would-be crossers that the port-of-entry was closed and they needed to turn back. Next, dozens of personnel from the various law enforcement agencies and the Guard clad in riot gear — shields, helmets batons, knee and shin guards, some in camo, some with automatic weapons — marched double-time up the traffic lanes past the inspection booths to meet the make-believe horde.
A blue-striped CBP helicopter hovered overhead, and several small explosive charges were detonated to simulate the chaos that a real-life emergency would entail. At least two aerial drones filmed the activity on the ground, while dozens of curious spectators — many of them waiting for the bridge to reopen so they could cross — recorded the action with their cell phones.
By 2:35 p.m. pedestrians were once again crossing into Mexico, the razor-wire barricades were being removed, the Guard Humvees were driving away from the scene, and the CBP chopper was coming in for a landing behind the secure walls of Gateway bridge.
Elias Rodriguez, public affairs liaison for CBP Port of Brownsville Field Operations, said afterward that the exercise was done in coordination with Mexican customs authorities in Matamoros.
“In a real event we would definitely be in constant communication with our Mexican counterparts,” he said.
Rodriguez said the exercise was all about being ready in case there’s a real emergency. CBP said in a statement that it periodically conducts “mobile field force exercises at ports-of-entry as part of our port-hardening measures to prepare for and respond to disturbances, mass migration attempts, and to ensure the safe and secure processing of travelers at our international bridges.”
“All of these measures seek to ensure the safety of the traveling public while facilitating lawful trade and travel,” CBP said.
