Customs and Border chief: Migrant surge not letting up

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The surge of Central American families seeking asylum at U.S. borders is not letting up, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday after touring a temporary holding facility in the Rio Grande Valley set up to manage the influx.

The number of apprehensions along the southwestern border can be close to 2,000 a day — with most people turning themselves in, Kerlikowske said in a phone interview. The November influx was as high as what was seen in October: 46,195, he said.

The precise monthly number is to be announced next week.

The facility at the Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge is due to open Friday and process up to 500 people a day. The 40,000-square-foot white canopy tent is in a field near the river, surrounded by a barbed wire-topped fence.

Kerlikowske toured a similar facility Tuesday that is already up-and-running in Tornillo, near El Paso. Officials say the facilities will be running as long as they’re needed.

Read more at AZ Capitol Times

Corrie O'Connor