Border Agents Set a Record, Detaining 1K People at Once

Border agents took more than 1,000 migrants into custody near El Paso, Texas, after they crossed into the US illegally Wednesday, officials say—the largest group ever encountered by the Border Patrol, per NBC. More immigrants have been traveling in large groups recently, advocates say, for safety. Medical teams and border agents, who often patrol in pairs, can be overwhelmed by the groups. An incomplete tally of the 1,036 immigrants shows that it included 934 people in family groups, 63 children who were alone, and 39 single adults. All processed as of Wednesday morning were from Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador.

Until now, the largest group stopped at the border had 424 people. The Border Patrol says that agents encountered 13 groups of more than 100 in fiscal 2018 but now see that many groups in one day. Monday—Memorial Day—was especially busy, Customs and Border Protection officials say, with more than 2,200 migrants detained, per Newsweek. (A section of border wall is going up on private land in New Mexico.)