Signs of new caravans headed to the border as WH faces backlash for not calling it a 'crisis'

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White House declines to call migrant border surge a 'crisis'

FOX News White House correspondent Peter Doocy has the latest on 'Special Report'

U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande City station on Saturday encountered two large groups of illegal immigrants crossing into the United States, in a possible sign of a deepening crisis at the border.

CBP agents first responded to a report of a "large group" of illegal immigrants near Las Lomas, Texas – about five miles southeast of Rio Grande City, according to U.S. Customs Border and Protection.

The agents apprehended 134 illegal immigrants – 128 of whom were identified as family members. The agents determined the individuals were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

FOX News has exclusively obtained two photos showing a US Border Patrol temporary outdoor processing site in Mission, TX in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

Just a few hours later, RGC agents responded to another report of illegal immigrants crossing the border near La Grulla – about 16 miles further southeast from Las Lomas. The agents reportedly encountered 113 illegal immigrants comprising families and unaccompanied alien children (UAC).

REP. KATKO: PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE EXPLOITING THE BORDER SITUATION

The majority of individuals in the second group were also from Central America, but 17 were identified as Romanian nationals. Seven UACs were traveling among the group, CBP said.

Migrant families and children climb the banks of the Rio Grande River into the United States as smugglers on rafts prepare to return to Mexico in Penitas, Texas, U.S., March 5, 2021.  (Reuters)

A CBP official told Fox News that the individuals are still being processed.

"Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation," CBP said in a statement. "The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements."

People surround a car as it arrives carrying food donations at a makeshift camp for migrants seeking asylum in the United States at the border crossing Friday, March 12, 2021, in Tijuana, Mexico.  (AP)

The back-to-back migrant groups come amid a recent influx of migrants at the southern border – something that the Biden administration has refused to label a "crisis."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that the Biden administration recognizes "this is a big problem," but she blamed the issue on former President Donald Trump.

"The last administration left us a dismantled and unworkable system and, like any other problem, we are going to do all we can to solve it," she said.

Asked if the Biden administration has a handle on the unprecedented amount of migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border, Psaki said "we certainly do."

BIDEN IMMIGRATION POLICY 'CLEARLY SEPARATING THESE FAMILIES' AT BORDER: SEN. RICK SCOTT

Last Tuesday, Trump blasted President Biden’s handling of the border crisis, saying the country is being "destroyed" by the recent surge of illegal migrants at the border.

In a statement, the former commander-in-chief pointed to his border policy wins as president, saying that under his administration the U.S.-Mexico border was "in great shape" and was "strong, safer and more secure than ever before."

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"We ended Catch-and-Release, shut down asylum fraud and crippled the vicious smugglers, drug dealers and human traffickers," wrote the former president. "The Wall, despite horrendous Democratic delays, would have easily been finished by now, and is working magnificently."

Fox News’ Jon Michael Raasch contributed to this report.