U. S. Border Patrol Opens Eagle Pass North Soft Side Migrant Processing Center at Maverick County Industrial Park (Radar Base)
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
United States Border Patrol Del Rio Division Sector Chief Jason D. Owens announced the opening of the newly constructed Eagle Pass North Soft Side Migrant Processing Center at the Maverick County Industrial Park, locally known as the Radar Base, in Eagle Pass, Texas with a capacity to process and hold up to 1,000 migrants.
The Eagle Pass North Soft Side Migrant Processing Center is now the second such facility constructed in Eagle Pass with the first being built at the U. S. Border Patrol Eagle Pass South Station located on FM 1021, locally known as El Indio Highway.
Owens stated in his weekly weekend report that during the July 4, 2022 weekend, a total of 1,850 individuals were detained by U. S. Border Patrol agents, including 26 smuggling cases resulting in the arrest of 125 individuals, 38 rescues completed, two deaths of migrants, and two individuals with criminal history were arrested. Owens noted that 1,000 individuals were confirmed to have gotten away.
In addition, U. S. Border Patrol Del Rio Sector Acting Special Operations Supervisor Eric Salazar announced on July 7, 2022 that Del Rio Sector agents had encountered four large groups of migrants totaling 1,213 individuals, including one group with 536 people-being the largest group encountered by Del Rio Sector agents to date.
Salazar added that as of July 7, the U. S. Border Patrol Del Rio Sector accounted for over 52% of all large group encounters by U. S. Border Patrol in the United States. Salazar noted these large group encounters is tremendously affecting the Del Rio Sector agents from doing their customary duties as they take extraordinary time to detain, process, and transport these large numbers of individual migrants.
The newly opened Eagle Pass North Soft Side Migrant Processing Center will greatly assist the U. S. Border Patrol Del Rio Sector in processing the large number of migrants being encountered and detained at the U. S.-Mexico border within the Del Rio Sector, particularly in Eagle Pass and Del Rio areas.
The new facility is leased by Maverick County to the United States Department of Homeland Security and was constructed by a private contractor for use by the U. S. government.
Many Eagle Passans have obtained employment at the two migrant processing centers through a private contractor assisting the federal government and with federal agencies involved with immigration and related issues.
