Hundreds of migrants storm border entry point in El Paso, prompting standoff with Border Patrol

Paso Del Norte International Bridge was temporarily closed

Cars line up at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, below, on the border with El Paso, Texas, top, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. The U.S. fully reopened its borders with Mexico and Canada on Monday and lifted restrictions on travel that covered most of Europe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez) (Christian Chavez, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

EL PASO, Texas – After hearing rumors that the US border might be open for express asylum, hundreds of migrants stormed an entry border point in El Paso on Sunday, according to the El Paso Times.

The migrants, most of whom were Venezuelan, gathered around 1:30 p.m. and rushed the Paso Del Norte International Bridge.

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US Customs and Border Protection was quick to react and a standoff ensued for crowd control, the newspaper reported.

The bridge was temporarily closed off, multiple barriers were installed on the bridge and a riot-control team was deployed.

It wasn’t until 5:30 p.m. when many of the migrants had returned to Mexico, the newspaper reported. The bridge eventually reopened by 6:30 p.m.

Migrants reportedly began gathering at the foot of the bridge Sunday morning before the rush began.

Two other bridges in El Paso were also blocked off -- the Stanton Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas.

We’ll bring more updates to this story as they become available.


About the Author:

Cody King is a digital journalist for KSAT 12. She previously worked for WICS/WRSP 20 in Springfield, Illinois.