In an episode that defined the chaos and violence that is America’s southern border, a mass of illegal immigrants broke through a fence in a rush to enter America.
Texas National Guard members trying to stem the tide at first held back the onrushing wave but then were tossed about like rag dolls.
The group that initially rushed the fence numbered about 100 illegal immigrants out of a mass of about 600 people shoving one another aside in order to cross the border.
This is the moment when TX National Guard became overrun by migrants rioting to get across the border here in El Paso today
We were there and saw it all happen. Absolute chaos here. pic.twitter.com/VN6Kf663ie
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
BREAKING: A riot just broke out here in El Paso
Hundreds of migrants decided they had enough of TX National Guard returning them to Mexico and rushed the border wall here.
Thankful to be here w/ @JamesBreeden pic.twitter.com/sY84y8QiYi
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
At one point, men pulled fencing from the posts that held it. As a small group of Guard members tried to hold their ground on the U.S. side of the border, the crowd of illegal immigrants grew until the mass finally was more than the Guard members could hold.
Eventually, Guard members pushed back to regain control, while others had their hands on their rifles in an implied threat, according to the New York Post.
Is the U.S. under invasion?
The Post reported that the Guard members eventually pushed back the surging crowd of illegal immigrants.
The wave of illegal immigrants found that after they had dashed through one fence and shoved Guard members out of the way, another barrier remained that they could not clear.
A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said some of the illegal immigrants who rushed the gate and were detained will be expelled, according to KFOX-TV.
“Right now, all the migrants we encountered today here at Gate 36 will be transported to a processing center, to face consequences under Title 8 authority,” the representative said, adding that those who participated in the gate-smashing will not be able to apply for any immigration status for the next five years.
“We need to educate the community that anybody that enters the country illegally, or doesn’t have a basis to stay in the country, will be set for removal to their country of origin,” the CBP representative said.
Our border is breached, and Texas is overrun with constant invasion
Voting for the #SwampOmnibus does NOTHING to stop the mayhem https://t.co/aCwMcCuneB
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) March 21, 2024
“They are just following instructions from social media from transnational criminal organizations giving them false hope and false information of a safe passage into the United States. They are getting exploited by the TCOs out of their money with the promise of safe passage,” the representative said, according to Border Report.
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said all the illegal immigrants involved in the fracas have been rounded up, according to Fox News.
Texas, should officials wish, could file charges against illegal immigrants who assaulted Guard members.
“Just in case people are unsure, this is what an invasion looks like,” Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said.