A family of five migrants was captured by KSAT photojournalist Gavin Nesbitt crossing the Rio Grande Wednesday as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional Republicans held a nearby press conference about immigration.
The two adults and three children could be seen from the staging area of the press conference crossing into Eagle Pass, Texas, from Mexico.
Border Patrol agents called out to the migrants in Spanish to tell them to turn around.
Once the family set foot in the United States, the agents gave water to the children, who were in pajamas. Then, they loaded the family up in a van.
Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was at the podium when the migrants were seen crossing.
None of the speakers directly addressed the incident.
With the number of illegal crossings into the United States topping 10,000 on several days last month, the border city has been at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, his nearly $10 billion initiative that has tested the federal government’s authority over immigration and elevated the political fight over the issue.
On Tuesday, local business owners and city leaders told a KSAT crew at their border that they hope the politicians’ stop isn’t just for show.
“I hope they do what you guys are doing, coming, talking to people, asking what’s going on,” said Francisco Hernandez, who owns a Western wear store in downtown Eagle Pass.
He wants elected leaders to listen to the community’s issues.
“We need their help to see what’s going on,” said Hernandez.
Less than a mile away from Hernandez’s store is a crisis. A December surge of migrants hit what leaders called historic levels.
U.S. Border Patrol shifted its resources to processing migrants, delaying wait times for travelers looking to cross the international bridge.
“People are used to doing three, four hours in line during the holidays,” said Hernandez. “It’s the busy time of the year. But thirteen, fourteen hours? That’s ridiculous.”
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