Border officials said the situation along the US-Mexico frontier is ‘out of control’ after dramatic drone footage showed more than 8,000 migrants - most of them from Haiti - waiting under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas for processing.
The large group of migrants is double the amount from just the previous day, according to Fox News.
Haiti is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on August 14, which killed more than 2,200 people and damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes.
The island is also being wracked by fresh political instability caused by the assassination of its former president Jovenel Moise in June, with the island's prime minister Ariel Henry since named as a suspect in the investigation.
Officials reported that there were more than 4,000 migrants waiting under the bridge to be processed on Wednesday, but by Thursday morning that number surged to some 8,200.
Law enforcement officials told Fox News that most of the migrants who were arriving fled Haiti.
Officials reported that there were more than 4,000 migrants waiting under the bridge to be processed on Wednesday, but by Thursday morning that number surged to some 8,200
The migrants were seen waiting under the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas for processing on Thursday
Drone footage from the previous day (above) shows about half the number seen on Thursday
The migrants were seen on Thursday gathered in close quarters under the bridge that spans the Texas-Mexico border
Most of the migrants are from Haiti, a nation that has been ravaged by an earthquake as well as political unrest
The migrants are waiting to be apprehended and processed by Border Patrol, but the agency has been overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of those crossing
The island is also being wracked by fresh political instability caused by the assassination of its former president Jovenel Moise in June, with the island's prime minister Ariel Henry since named as a suspect in the investigation
Earlier this year, it was learned that more than 200,000 migrants again crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in August.
A Department of Homeland Security source previewed the latest numbers for the network, saying that there were 208,887 encounters last month.
That is fewer than the 212,000 encounters in July, but still represents a 317 percent increase in crossing from August 2020, when there were 50,014 encounters.
The August numbers break down to 49 percent single adults - down 7 percent from July.
Forty-four percent were expelled via the Title 42 health order, Fox said.
The U.S. Coast Guard stopped a 35-foot boat with 104 Haitian migrants after the vessel was spotted in Florida waters on Sunday
The 104 migrants - all natives of Haiti - spent five days sailing across the Atlantic and were initially spotted by a Good Samaritan who alerted the U.S. Coast Guard. The individuals were transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge and later provided medical treatment
Title 72 was signed by former President Donald Trump in March 2020, in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for the rapid removal of border crossers - which was in line with the previous administration's hardline agenda on immigration.
Against the wishes of immigrant rights groups, President Joe Biden's administration extended the order.
Under Biden, the US government has expelled single adults and some families - but not unaccompanied minors and families with young children.
In August, 18,847 unaccompanied children crossed into the United States, down slightly from July, Fox reported.
And also 86,487 family units - up 4 percent from the month before.
The official government release of the new numbers is expected in the upcoming days.
For months, Republicans have seen the border crisis as a political opportunity with former President Donald Trump hammering Biden on it during an call-in interview on Newsmax on Tuesday night.
'We are a laughingstock all over the world,' Trump said, mentioning the migrant surge and Biden's disastrous pull-out from Afghanistan.
Vice President Kamala Harris has been especially criticized, after Biden made her the point person for communicating with the Northern Triangle countries - Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras - where most of the migrants are coming from.
Harris was to handle the root causes of migration.
Haiti is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on August 14, which killed more than 2,200 people and damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 homes. Earthquake victims in Haiti are seen in the above August 22 file photo
The US Coast Guard intercepted a 35-foot sailboat with 104 Haitian migrants after the boat was spotted in Florida waters on Sunday.
The migrants spent six days sailing from Haiti in hopes of reaching the United States but were intercepted by the Coast Guard, just 18 miles off the coast of Biscayne Bay, south of Miami.
'There were way too many people on board,' U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Estrada said, according to WPLG television.
The U.S. Coast Guard's 7th District said the migrant were removed from the overcrowded boat and transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge.
'Once aboard a cutter, all migrants (received) food, water, shelter and basic medical attention,' the Coast Guard said.
Despite the cross Atlantic voyage, none of the migrants were diagnosed with medical issues.
'Our message is, 'Don't take to the sea in any shape or form. It's always dangerous. Water conditions can change on a moments notice. Weather conditions can change on a moments notice and we advise don't do it,' Estrada said.
The incident came after the Coast Guard stopped a 24-food vessel about three miles of Juno Beach last Tuesday and transferred 12 Haitian migrants to Bahamian authorities.
According to Coast Guard data, 502 Haitian migrants have been interdicted in U.S. waters since October 1, 2020 - the start of fiscal year 2021. In comparison, 418 Haitians were stopped in fiscal year 2020.
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