6/25/2014
Every day immigrants are turning themselves into Border Patrol shortly after crossing the Rio Grande River.
Action 4's Ashly Custer spoke to one of the undocumented immigrants just moments after her group had crossed into the United States.
On open roads, Action 4 News encountered about 15 to 18 immigrants and you can see and hear the Border Patrol vehicles and helicopters are out searching the area looking for others.
Our news crew was granted access to private property, just feet away from the Rio Grande River to witness the surge first hand.
The owner, Lorenzo Anzadula Jr., told us it's easier than ever for undocumented immigrants to illegal cross our border.
“They cross the river no more than 500-600 meters away,” explained Anzaldua.
“On the open road,” asked Action 4 News reporter Ashly Custer.
“Yeah, they want to get caught," he said.
Anzaldua Jr. said the immigrants are not hiding anymore.
Instead, they are walking up on the open paved roads waiting to surrender and be picked up by Border Patrol agents.
"It just finished raining and so this is probably from this morning. You see all these footprints? They just wait here like, 'Hello, we're waiting for the school bus. We're waiting for the bus so they can take us’," said Anzaldua.
Just two hours of waiting and it happened just as Anzaldua described.
We witness a group of immigrants, made up of mostly women and children, walk up the road.
They say that they’re from different countries and just happened to meet up along their journey. This woman is from El Salvador and told us she's been traveling with her 15 month old daughter for the last 15 days in hopes to reunite with family members in Atlanta.
The undocumented immigrants explained that they are waiting for someone to pick them up or to be discovered by Border Patrol agents, whichever happens first.
That didn't take long, within minutes several border patrol vehicles arrive to round up the group. The immigrants did not appear concerned, but rather at ease that their long journey appears to have come to an end.
Anzaldua explained that this is one of the many groups he's seen walk through the property.
"We're still human beings so I smiled at her, but you have no right being here lady," he said.
Anzaldua doesn't agree with people illegally crossing the border to enter the United states, it’s sad seeing young children making the trip in the South Texas heat.
"A year old boy or baby girl…there’s a grown cougar running around here. What chance do they have? So who's the real enemy? The parents who don’t give a damn about their kids? Who would bring a kid in this weather outside? They only care about themselves," said Anzalduas.
As the Border Patrol agent approached the group of undocumented immigrants, we overheard him telling the group that the sooner they provided their identification, the sooner they would be transported to another location where they would be provided with ample food and water.
Anzaldua worries if politicians don’t do something to secure our border, the immigration crisis will only get worse before it gets better.
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