Border Patrol agents in one area of the Rio Grande Valley apprehended almost 500 border crossers in two days

Over the course of just two days, Border Patrol agents in just one area of the Rio Grande Valley sector apprehended almost 500 border crossers traveling in large groups, according to a statement from Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector public affairs.

The release explains that on Wednesday morning, "agents encountered a group of 41 illegal aliens near Hidalgo, Texas, comprised mainly of family units and unaccompanied children. As agents prepared the group for transport, a second group of 57 illegal aliens readily turned themselves in. Within an hour, additional groups surrendered to agents increasing the group size to over 300 people."

The next day, the statement continues, "agents patrolling in the same area, encountered a group of 170 illegal aliens consisting primarily of family units and unaccompanied children. Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technicians screened the group for illnesses and the subjects were transported to the processing center."

Earlier this week, Border Patrol El Paso Sector, which is to the west of the Rio Grande Valley, announced that its agents had apprehended a large group of over 200 border crossers early  Tuesday morning. That group was similarly composed of "Central American families and unaccompanied juveniles” and then screened by Border Patrol paramedics before being taken to a facility for processing.

The apprehensions come despite claims from the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this summer that attempted border crossings by large groups has been on the decline since the Mexican government beefed up its own immigration enforcement.

“In July, we have had groups in [the Rio Grand Valley Sector] have over 100, a few of them," Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan told Fox News on Sunday. "But it’s a completely different scenario than May, when we had 28 large groups and up to 1,000 per group. It was a very different and challenging effort.”

This latest information out of the RGV sector comes right on the heels of news that the sector had already set an annual apprehension record with two months remaining in the fiscal year. The previous record was set during former President Obama's border crisis in 2014.

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