A large white bus bound for San Antonio, Texas, was overtaken Monday afternoon during the two-and-a-half-hour trip from the international bridge in Del Rio. The migrants on board had been picked up from the makeshift migrant camp, where thousands are waiting to be taken into custody, two federal law enforcement agents told the Washington Examiner.
"They did break out of the bus, and they did escape," a senior federal law enforcement official confirmed to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
It is not clear which federal agency, Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was overseeing the transport. CBP initially apprehends, transports, and processes illegal immigrants, while ICE is responsible for longer-term detention and removal from the country. Neither agency responded to requests for comment.
However, ICE told a local media outlet that "several noncitizens attempted to flee the contracted bus."