U.S. Border Patrol Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

More Than 170,000 Migrants Taken Into Custody At Southwest Border In March, Highest In 15 Years

By NPR News April 2, 2021

A group of migrants from El Salvador arrives in Roma, Texas, after crossing the Rio Grande on March 30, 2021 in Roma, Texas. CREDIT: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

More than 170,000 migrants were taken into custody at the Southwest border in March, the highest monthly total since at least 2006, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who have been briefed on the preliminary numbers but are not authorized to speak publicly.Read More

Children Spend Days In Crude Facilities As U.S. Border Resources Overwhelmed Again

By NPR News March 12, 2021

A U.S. Border Patrol station in Texas is seen in 2019. Customs and Border Protection is now holding a record number of minors in warehouse-like facilities as the Biden administration struggles with an illegal migration surge. CREDIT: Mario Tama/Getty Images

BY FRANCO ORDOÑEZ & JOHN BURNETT A record number of migrant children and teenagers are being held in warehouse-like detention facilities run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection near the […]Read More

Immigrant-Rights Activists Demand Ban On Courthouse Arrests At Olympia Rally

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa February 6, 2020

Former Yakima City councilmember Dulce Gutiérrez spoke to other immigrant rights advocates gathered on the steps to the state capitol as undocumented residents Wendy, Saul and Jorge listened from behind.

Several hundred advocates from across the Northwest rallied in Olympia Wednesday demanding protections for immigrants in Washington. According to ICE, agents are forced to conduct arrests in courthouses because state law prohibits local agencies from enforcing immigration law or collaborating with federal authorities. Read More

As Migrants Stream In At The Border, Inland Checkpoints Feel The Strain

By NPR News June 12, 2019

Border Patrol agents with a sniffer dog at the new and expanded Falfurrias checkpoint. Eric Westervelt/NPR

"They're making a run at us every day," says one Border Patrol agent who runs a checkpoint an hour's drive north of the U.S.-Mexico border.Read More

Small Section Of Privately Funded Border Wall Near Completion In New Mexico

By NPR News June 2, 2019

Construction is nearly complete in New Mexico on a section of border wall built with private funds raised by a nonprofit called We Build The Wall. Mallory Falk/KRWG

We Build the Wall, a nonprofit organization funding construction of a section of border wall near Sunland Park, N.M., said Thursday that it has 10 other sites picked out for more wall construction.Read More

Border Facility Stops Migrant Intake After ‘Flu-Related’ Outbreak

By NPR News May 22, 2019

U.S. Border Patrol agents conduct intake at the Central Processing Center in McAllen, Texas. The center is temporarily not taking in migrants after the outbreak of "a flu-related illness." U.S. Customs And Border Protection/Getty Images

The McAllen, Texas, facility is the same one where a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy became ill last week, and died after he was transferred to another Border Patrol station.Read More

President Trump Walks Back Threat To Close U.S. Border, Giving Mexico A ‘1-Year Warning’

By NPR News April 4, 2019

President Trump said Thursday that he was giving Mexico one year to stem the flow of migrants and drugs coming across the Southern border, or else the U.S. would impose auto tariffs or close the border. Evan Vucci/AP

President Trump is pushing Mexico to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States. After a year, he said, he will consider tariffs on cars or a border shutdown.Read More

U.S. Reportedly Compiled Database Of Journalists Working Along Southwest Border

By NPR News March 7, 2019

A source inside the Department of Homeland Security reportedly shared documents compiling names, photos and personal information of journalists, activists and others working along the border.Read More

U.S. Citizens Detained After Speaking Spanish In Montana Sue U.S. Border Agency

By NPR News February 18, 2019

Martha Hernandez (left) and Ana Suda say they were interrupted and detained because they spoke Spanish while shopping at a convenience store in Havre, Mont. They've now filed a lawsuit. CREDIT: Brooke Swaney/ACLU of Montana via AP

Two women who were detained and asked to show identification after speaking Spanish in a convenience store in Montana are suing U.S. Customs and Border Protection, saying the CBP agent violated their constitutional rights when he detained them and asked to see their identification.Read More