On the Front Lines With Border Patrol in South Texas

The Rio Grande Valley Sector covers land as big as the state of South Carolina and is monitored by more than 3,000 agents, along with Texas Game Wardens and Parks and Wildlife officials. Together, they're working to prevent the flow of illegal migrants coming from Central America. The Rio Grande serves as a natural divider, and from the American side you can see clear paths to the water. On the other side, beaten down brush shows where the illegal trek picks up again. There's an even bigger telltale sign: children's clothing left near the riverbank. In as few as three weeks, there will be more eyes and ears monitoring the border with National Guard troops on the way. Once they arrive, they will set up observational posts. While they can't make arrests, the troops will hold on to those crossing the border for border agents. "There's more manpower on the ground, so we can apprehend these immigrants when they come on north," said Border Patrol agent Joe Gutierrez. About 220,000 migrants have been captured in this sector alone, Gutierrez said, and less than a quarter of them were unaccompanied children...more