According to the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol sectors from Laredo to San Diego are reporting increases. The federal government shows the vast majority of those caught are from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
According to DHS, the number of family units caught crossing the border rose 105 percent from October 2015 through June 2016 in comparison with those time periods in 2014 and 2015. Border Patrol sectors also reported a 62 percent rise in the number of unaccompanied children. The steepest increases were seen in the El Paso and Yuma Border Patrol sectors.
Channel 2 Investigates rode with Border Patrol agents in an area south of McAllen to see this increase firsthand. In a matter of hours, agents caught four groups of immigrants coming across the Rio Grande. All were from Central America.
The immigrants KPRC 2 News saw ranged in age from 2 to 22 years old. Many of the teenagers seen crossed the border without their parents. One of those caught just after crossing the river was a 17-year-old girl who was five months pregnant.
