Multiple agencies help U.S. Border Patrol to transport migrants
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The "TCU", or Transportation Coordination Unit is an initiative by agencies of three levels of government to transport migrants from the border or other places to processing centers.
Currently, the only processing center operating is located in Northeast El Paso.
U.S. Border Patrol Agent in the El Paso Sector Orlando Marrero-Rubio told ABC-7 that this initiative helps to keep Border Patrol Agents with boots on the ground along the border.
Among those agencies assisting Border Patrol with the transports are the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Air Marshals, the Secret Service, and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
"We do have catering for the migrants. We do have childcare for the migrants, we have medical care for the migrants," Agent Marrero-Rubio said. "So it's not agents attending to the migrants' needs like we were back in 2019 with the biggest influx that we had. Now we are contracting and we have those resources to keep our agents in the field, in the ground."
The "TCU" also helps out Border Patrol transporting migrants in a safe and timely manner from the field to processing facilities.
Currently, the El Paso sector saw a decrease in migrant encounters compared to late 2023.
"The numbers have decreased. If you look back on the average encounters that we had in December, we were averaging over 1100 a day," Agent Marrero-Rubio added. "Currently, we're averaging just over 400 a day, so that means a significant reduction in migrants crossing the border illegally."
