Haitian migrants take over DHS transport bus in Texas, flee the scene

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Border Patrol shuts down Del Rio Port of entry

Fox News' Bill Melugin reports live from Del Rio, Texas, as border crisis is intensifying

A group of Haitian migrants on Monday took over a bus being used to transport them to a different immigration processing station in Texas, before fleeing the area, sources told Fox News.

Multiple sources told Fox that the bus, traveling from Del Rio to Brownsville, was taken over by migrants who didn't want to be removed from the U.S. back to Haiti. The migrants forced their way off the bus and fled. All were later caught. 

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The bus is said to have been contracted by DHS and did not have law enforcement on board. National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd mentioned the incident at a press conference alongside Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.

"When they found out they were going to be sent back to Haiti, they took the bus over and they fled," Judd said, praising Texas Department of Public Safety for arresting them.

"On Monday, Sept. 20, some migrants in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody traveling by bus from Del Rio to Brownsville, Texas, became disruptive," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News in a statement. "As ICE law enforcement officers worked to restore order, three migrants attempted to abscond. They were immediately apprehended by ICE officers and returned to the bus, which continued to Brownsville without incident." 

The spokesperson added: "ICE fully respects the rights of all people to peacefully express their opinions, while continuing to perform its immigration enforcement mission consistent with our priorities, federal law and agency policy."

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The incident comes as officials on the ground are scrambling to deal with a massive surge of Haitian migrants at Del Rio. At one point, there were more than 14,000 migrants underneath the international bridge.

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The Biden administration has surged agents and resources to the area and ramped up deportation flights, while DHS Secretary Alejendro Mayorkas has warned illegal immigrants they won’t be allowed in the country.

"If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned. Your journey will not succeed and you will be endangering your life and your family’s lives," Mayorkas said. "This administration is committed to developing safe, orderly and humane pathways for migration. This is not the way to do it."