Unstoppable migrants break through US-Mexico border, outpacing officers

Hundreds of migrants have stormed the US-Mexico border in the state of Texas, overwhelming National Guard troops patrolling the area, according to several US media outlets.

Border officials said on Thursday the migrants breached the razor wire barriers in the city of El Paso by covering them with clothing and cardboard in an attempt to jump over the barricades and gain entry into the US.

The Texas National Guard managed to round up the migrants and loaded them into vehicles to be brought to an immigration processing centre.

This latest incident comes during a tumultuous battle between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden's administration regarding arrest jurisdiction of the hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing into the United States illegally every month.

Texas Senate Bill 4 [SB 4] was approved by lawmakers, allowing state law enforcement officials to arrest illegal migrants and for state judges to be able to sentence them up to six months in jail or deport them.

Repeat offenders would face between two and 20 years in prison. The US Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that SB 4 could go into effect, allowing state arrest mandates of illegal migrants to be carried out.

But just hours later, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a hold on the bill until further notice.

Border 'invasion'

Mexico has warned that it will not accept deportations by Texas, whose Republican governor Greg Abbott has decried an "invasion" at the southern border.

US Republicans blame Biden for the recent record flow of migrants into the United States.

More than 2.4 million migrants crossed the southern US border in 2023 alone, largely from Central America and Venezuela, as they flee poverty, violence and disasters exacerbated by the climate crisis.

However, according to US Customs and Border officials, nearly 250,000 migrants crossed the southern border in December 2023 alone, marking the highest monthly total on record.

US immigration law allows migrants to turn themselves into Border Patrol agents in order to seek asylum.