Migrants in mad dash to cross Texas border before state’s arrest law goes into effect: ‘We need to get to America fast’

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, MEXICO — Migrants are hurrying across the US’ southern border into Texas in record numbers before a state law allowing police to arrest anyone suspected of illegally crossing the border goes into effect in the new year.

Tens of thousands of people are waiting at the Mexico-US border each day — overwhelming border patrol agents and local authorities — and the numbers are only expected to increase as migrants race to beat the March deadline when officers can begin enforcing the Texas law.

“We need to get to America fast,” Fernando Valencia, a 36-year-old truck driver from Venezuela told The Post in Mexico Thursday.

“With the new laws in Texas, we have a better chance of getting into America now than if we wait.”

Valencia was part of a group of migrants headed to a shelter in Piedras Negras, a four-hour journey by foot from where they were in Nava, Coahuila.

“We came to the border as soon as we heard about the new law,” he said. “We had somewhere to stay in Mexico but we needed to leave.”

The proposal was signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday and will allow any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people they believe entered the US illegally. Once arrested and in custody, the migrants will receive a court order to leave the country or face prosecution on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry, including jail time or a fine of up to $2,000. If they don’t comply, they could be rearrested on felony charges.

The law is set to go into effect on March 1, 2024, but will likely face legal challenges as immigration enforcement is within federal jurisdiction not at the state level. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas plans to challenge the measure as well as more than 20 congressional Democrats.

Abbott said he expects the law could decrease the number of people crossing illegally into the US through Texas by “well over 50%, maybe 75%.”

Many migrants are crossing into the Lone Star State by swimming or wading across the Rio Grande.

The Post spotted a group of about 30 men, women and children walking through its waters underneath the Camino Real International Bridge Thursday morning.

A young Venezuelan man said he was heading to New York with his sister, aunt and cousin where another cousin is currently living.

“I’m excited to go to New York,” Alexander Mendez, 23, said. “I’ve been traveling for two months. I want to explore New York, work and get a better life.”

Several of the asylum seekers The Post spoke to said they were hoping to make it to the Big Apple, where most said a family member was already living.

As three young men from Guatemala took their shoes and socks off on the riverbank, a loudspeaker on the US side blasted a message in Spanish on a loop: “Attention, attention. It is illegal to cross here. This area is secured with wire and there is no entry. Go to the bridge. It is illegal to cross here. Remain in Mexico.”

But, stretches of the razor wire-topped walls have been compromised and Border Patrol agents struggled to keep up with repairs. Every 100 yards or so, rugs and blankets cover sections of the sharp wire where migrants climbed over.

“My brother has been in New York for two years. We are all going to New York,” one of the Guatemalans said.

John Rodriguez, 20, arrived in Piedras Negras Wednesday afternoon after three months of walking and biking from Venezuela. He stopped to rest at the Casa del Migrante migrant shelter before planning to cross the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass’ international bridges on Thursday. 

“I have been traveling for three months. Just walking and riding a bike,” he told The Post through a translator. “I traveled through Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and now Mexico.”

Rodriguez hopes to get a bus ticket to Maine where his brother lives if he makes it across the border.  

He said he got an immigration status appointment but it’s not for another two months, so he’s going to claim asylum once crossing the border.

“There’s no opportunity in Venezuela. It’s not dangerous but the economy is bad,” he said.

“I am waiting for more family to arrive here. By the grace of God, I will cross [the Rio Grande] tomorrow,” Rodriguez said. “I need to rest first. I have been traveling for three months without a break.”

One migrant was walking with his 4-year-old son on his shoulders and his wife by his side.

The 23-year-old father Jean Valiente said he has his sights set on NYC from what he’s seen of the city on TV and TikTok.

“There’s more opportunity in big cities like New York,” Valiente told The Post. “I have a cousin in New York. He crossed the [US southern] border six months ago.”

A record 12,600 migrants were encountered by Customs and Border Protection officers in 24 hours Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers are showing up at the border each month. August saw more than 304,000 migrants attempt to gain entry to the US, September increased to 341,000 and October logged 310,000.

And last month, the US Immigration court reached a historic backlog of over three million pending cases, according to Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC).