(ConservativeSense.com) – An illegal migrant, arrested at Eagle Pass for unlawful possession of a firearm, escaped from police custody before being re-arrested. Police were dispatched to an area on the city’s outskirts following reports of a man brandishing an Armory 9mm handgun near Rio Grande College. Gilberto Maldonado was detained but escaped, still handcuffed, through the rear window of a police pickup truck. Officers caught him soon afterward.
A police spokesperson said they believed Mr. Maldonado intended to leave the area to avoid capture by Border Patrol agents, and they are unsure how or when he obtained the firearm. The illegal immigrant now faces charges including escape from custody, unlawful possession of a firearm, and tampering with a government record.
The Texas city of Eagle Pass is on the frontlines of the migrant crisis and includes the Rio Grande crossing point, one of the busiest on the border. Through October, law enforcement agents arrested more than 38,000 people at Rio Grande, and lawmakers in the Lone Star State are now pushing for the right to expel them.
In mid-November, the state legislature approved a proposed law that would give Texas officials the legal ability to deport illegal immigrants. The new laws would empower police, anywhere in the state, to arrest migrants and give local judges the power to expel them—tasks usually undertaken by federal authorities.
Democratic state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado said state officials should not have those rights, but Republicans said the action is necessary, and the vote carried along party lines with 83 votes to 61.
New data released in October shows record numbers of border crossers under the Biden administration. The House Judiciary Committee revealed that 3.8 million people have entered the country illegally since January 2021, and 99% of these were “released into the country.” The Committee also said that a further 1.7 million migrants were categorized as “known gotaways.”
The numbers are higher than the entire population of 22 states.
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