(NewsNation) — Video footage captured the moment Border Patrol agents cut through razor wire in Eagle Pass, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says is effective in preventing entry, and helped migrants enter the United States.
The footage, captured on the banks of the Rio Grande, shows the agents helping a group of migrants including women and children. They can be seen aiding women carrying children up and over the embankment and also placing fabric over the wire to avoid injuries.
Agents NewsNation spoke to, some of whom have personally been involved in wire-cutting, express they feel compelled to do so.
According to one agent who participated in wire-cutting, their superiors initiated the action, necessitating the presence of other agents for assistance. When NewsNation inquired about his perspective on the matter, he described it as “demoralizing.”
“Sucks I had to help with cutting and moving the razor wire earlier; demoralizing,” the agent said.
“The reality of the law is that once they’re in the United States, they have to be taken into custody, that barbed wire is in the United States, it’s already inland,” said Art Del Cueto, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council. “When those individuals reach the barbed wire, it is the job of the agents to detain them and protect them into custody. Now the agent ain’t gonna go through the barbed wire fence and get cut up and stuff. So the only recourse you have is to actually cut those pieces of our work. So we can take the individual in the country that once again, are already within the United States.”
Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X, formally known as Twitter, has become involved in addressing the recent increase in migrant arrivals in Texas, Arizona and California.
During his visit to Eagle Pass, a city that declared a state of emergency due to the influx of arrivals, Musk expressed strong support for immigrants, citing his own immigrant background.
However, he also noted that the current surge in migrants is straining social services in New York, emphasizing the need for a more streamlined immigration process.