Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked President Biden to issue an emergency declaration for his state due to the increasingly difficult border crisis.
In a letter to the president, Abbott specifically pointed to Val Verde County, where Haitian migrants have set up an encampment in Del Rio under the International Bridge. The governor said that as of Saturday there were nearly 16,000 migrants in Del Rio.
“Families, including infants and children, need food, water and medical supplies that the local government cannot supply,” Abbott wrote. “Thousands of families are immobilized in 100-degree heat as their numbers continue to swell as they wait to be processed by the approximately 64 federal agents in the area. Individuals are camping in squalid conditions and bathing in muddy river water, causing great health concerns.”
Abbott noted that Del Rio’s population is only 35,000 people, and that the city is not equipped to handle that many migrants.
Additionally, the governor said, the coronavirus pandemic makes the situation even more perilous, as he “has been provided no clear information about whether these individuals have received a COVID-19 vaccination or have been tested for the virus, or if they be exposing Texans and Americans to COVID.”
