(NewsNation) — NewsNation took a ride with law enforcement officials at the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, capturing four encounters on camera during one hour of live coverage.
During the “Dan Abrams Live,” special episode, NewsNation reporters fanned out nationwide, reporting live on the border crisis and its impact on communities, education and crime rates. Teams used night-vision technology and a specially outfitted NewsNation border truck.
Dan Abrams hosted the special edition that featured a live panel of border agents and police chiefs from Texas to New York to discuss how the border crisis is impacting their own communities.
However, it was the live interactions and events that occurred on the ground at the border that showed the nation what border agents deal with daily. You can watch the full “Crisis on the Border” special in the player above.
Here’s what happened on the ground:
Multiple migrants arrested at the border
Three migrants were arrested in Hidalgo County, Texas, after being found hiding near a canal. NewsNation correspondent Ali Bradley was with Texas Department of Public Safety officers at the time of the encounter, catching the moment the migrants were apprehended on live TV.
So-called “brush teams” help patrol the nation’s southern border, and they’re popping up in the U.S. The local law enforcement teams scour the stretch of land where migrants sometimes hide and run. If all is aligned right, brush teams are in the right place at the right time, catching those on the run.
Bradley embedded herself with brush teams across the southern border to see law enforcement’s efforts to capture migrants who enter the United States without authorization. People come fleeing other countries, many avoiding the U.S. legal border crossings. Sometimes, they receive help from cartels.
Two more migrants were reported to be a little way up the canal, but agents were unable to reach them in time. Therefore, those migrants are now considered “gotaways,” migrants who successfully evade law enforcement agencies after crossing the border illegally.
Car pulled over in Arizona on suspicion of smuggling
NewsNation’s Brian Entin rode along with a Pinal County sheriff’s team in Arizona.
Local law enforcement is cracking down on a stretch of highway connecting Arizona and California nicknamed the “Smuggler’s Highway,” which has become a hot spot for smuggling people from the southern border to Phoenix.
As a result, Pinal County authorities have set up an anti-smuggling unit along the route.
Along the route, Entin experienced two roadside stops.
During the first stop, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and his team pulled over a semitrailer for having a stolen plate on the trailer. Authorities proceeded to examine the truck, discovering the container to be empty.
During the second stop, officers pulled over a car for not being able to read the license plate. Lamb said the plate was flapping up and down, making it hard for them to read. The driver of the vehicle did not have a valid license, and there was a legal amount of marijuana in the vehicle.
Migrants injured along ‘Whiskey 8’
Correspondent Salvador Rivera reported live from San Diego along a stretch of border fence known as “Whiskey 8,” offering a close-up look at the crisis.
Rivera spoke with Jaime Zapata and his family about their challenges at the border.
“This is a scene that repeats itself many times over throughout the week. Sometimes you have 300 people. This is just one of several gathering areas along the border here in the San Diego Sector,” Rivera said.
Zapata told NewsNation that two of the women in his family were injured after falling from a border barrier, and said that ultimately, it’s up to border paramedics to help them.
Migrants breach wall, lead DPS on chase
Five migrants who breached the southern border wall led the Texas Department of Public Safety on a chase Thursday night. NewsNation’s Ali Bradley was riding along with agents at the time of the incident, catching the action on live TV.
Two people were apprehended by agents. However, three remained on the run after the first two were arrested, sending the crew of officers Bradley was with on a high-speed chase.