Sen. Cruz at Del Rio International Bridge: 'The Most Horrific Thing I've Ever Seen'

HOUSTON, Texas - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) returned to the border last night as over 10,000 illegal immigrants flooded into Del Rio, due to overcapacity at immigration housing facilities. Upon arrival, Sen. Cruz was briefed by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol Interim Chief Agent in Charge Robert Garcia and command staff at the Del Rio International Bridge to see President Biden's man-made crisis firsthand.

After his briefing, Sen. Cruz joined Fox News' ‘Hannity' to discuss the horrific scene he witnessed and to call on President Biden to take responsibility for his outrageous and dangerous policies and reverse them.

WATCH: Sen. Cruz on Hannity: The Biden-Harris Administration Has Created an Immigration Crisis in Del Rio

"The drone footage started this morning, and people across the country were horrified. And I guess the political operatives at the Biden White House saw that and decided the last thing they want is Fox News actually reporting on what's happening down here. [...] When I brought 19 senators to the Rio Grande Valley, I had to go in with my cell phone and photograph and take videos. [...] It is the most horrific thing I've ever seen. There are right now, as we're speaking, there are 10,503 people under that bridge. It is packed in as a mass of humanity. [...] They take your breath away because it just goes on and on and on - infants, little children, people struggling enormously, and something stunning that I discovered today is I discovered the cause of why this is happening."

[...]

"The answer is simple that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are absolute hypocrites. Those 10,000 people there - do you know how many Border Patrol is tested? Zero. Not one. They don't have the capacity to do that. [...] 700 people has grown to 10,500 because the word has gone out if you're from Haiti, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have said, ‘We have open borders, come to Del Rio, and they will let you in.' [...] It's a political decision that Joe Biden could end tonight by simply following the law and saying we're going to send people back to Haiti, which is what federal immigration law requires."

CBP officials reported 208,887 encounters with illegal immigrants in August, including 103,129 single adults, 18,847 unaccompanied children, and 86,487 individuals in a family unit. All of these numbers have increased over 100 percent since the previous year.

Last month, Sen. Cruz visited border communities to hear from law enforcement, first responders, city officials, and South Texas landowners on how the Biden-Harris administration's immigration policies have created a humanitarian, national security, and public health crisis. Read more about Sen. Cruz's August border tour here.

Read notable coverage of Sen. Cruz's reporting on the ground in Del Rio below.

ABC News: About 10,000 migrants being held under bridge in Del Rio, Texas
About 10,000 migrants are packed under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, waiting to be taken into U.S. custody, officials said on Thursday. Customs and Border Protection is sending extra manpower to deal with the crush of migrants in the Del Rio Sector, the agency said in a statement to ABC News.[...] Republicans have swiftly criticized the situation and blamed President Joe Biden. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz filmed a video from under the bridge, posted on Twitter, saying, "This is a crisis that is unfolding. It's a man-made crisis."

Breitbart: Cruz: ‘Manmade Crisis' in Del Rio Due to ‘Political Decision' by Biden Admin. to Halt Deportation Flights to Haiti
On Thursday's broadcast of the Fox News Channel's "Hannity," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) blamed the migrant situation in Del Rio on the "political decision" by the Biden administration to stop deportation flights to Haiti. Cruz said, "[T]his is a manmade crisis. ... September 8, the Biden administration made a political decision. They announced that they were no longer going to fly deportation flights back to Haiti." He added that after the cancellation of the flights, "the word has gone out, if you're from Haiti, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have said we have open borders, come to Del Rio, and they will let you in. ... And it's a political decision that Joe Biden could end tonight by simply following the law and saying, we are going to send people back to Haiti, which is what federal immigration law requires, until Biden and Harris got into office."

CNS News: Sen. Cruz Finds 10,503 People Waiting for Border Patrol Under a Texas Bridge
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), with his cell phone, is picking up where Fox News was forced to leave off -- videotaping the mass of illegal immigrants crowded together under a Del Rio, Texas bridge, all waiting for the overwhelmed Border Patrol agents to process them. Fox News says the Federal Aviation Administration has now imposed flight restrictions on the Fox News drone that flew over the swelling crowd earlier Thursday. Cruz says the Biden White House is trying to prevent the American people from seeing the continuing disaster at the southwest border: ‘The drone footage started this morning, and people across the country were horrified, and I guess the political operatives at the Biden white House saw that and decided the last thing they want is Fox News actually reporting on what is happening down here. So now the FAA is saying please, no journalists allowed,' Cruz said."

Daily Wire: Cruz At Biden's Border Crisis: ‘Most Horrific Thing I've Ever Seen,' Infants, Little Kids Struggling
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) slammed the Biden administration during an interview that he gave to Fox News on Thursday evening from the border where he had recorded up-close video of the crisis that was unfolding in the one specific area that he was in. Speaking from Del Rio, Texas, Cruz said that the Biden administration shut down drones from being able to operate near an area where more than 10,000 illegal aliens were being kept by the administration under an overpass. ‘The drone footage started this morning and people across the country were horrified and I guess the political operatives at the Biden White House saw that and decided the last thing they want is Fox News actually reporting on what's happening down here,' Cruz said. ‘So, now the FAA is saying please, no journalists allowed. As you know, they did the same thing in the Donna tent facility in the Rio Grande Valley where they wouldn't allow Fox News to come in when I brought 19 senators to the Rio Grande Valley, I had to go in with my cell phone and photograph and take videos.'"

Daily Wire: WATCH: Ted Cruz Releases Close Up Video Footage Of 10,000+ ‘Illegal Aliens' Under Overpass
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released video that he recorded in Del Rio, Texas, of the national security and humanitarian disaster that has unfolded on Democrat President Joe Biden's watch. The video showed thousands upon thousands of illegal aliens who were being held by the Biden administration under an overpass. Cruz said that more than 10,000 were being held. ‘The reason they're here is simple,' Cruz says in the video. "Eight days ago, the Biden administration made a political decision, a political decision to cancel deportation flights to Haiti. They did that on September 8th. Eight days later these numbers appear.' ‘On September 8th, underneath this bridge, there were between 700 and a thousand people," Cruz continued. "But when the word got out that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were no longer deporting people that came from Haiti, suddenly everyone was here, called their friends, called their family, and the numbers surged to 10,503. That's what's here today. It is more than the capacity of the Border Patrol to handle.'"

Epoch Times: FAA Imposes No-Fly Zone for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flying Over Texas Bridge Packed With Over 10,000 Illegal Aliens
"It comes amid a surge of illegal immigrants trying to cross into the United States in recent months, which has left Border Patrol agents overwhelmed and struggling to process the sheer volume of people, particularly those who arrived in the area at the bridge. [...] Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), is currently on the ground in Del Rio and has been sharing footage from the site. On Friday, he claimed there are currently 10,503 illegal aliens under the Del Rio International Bridge."

Fox News: Sen. Ted Cruz reveals what caused the influx of migrants under Texas' Del Rio bridge
"The Texas lawmaker provides shocking new videos of the situation on the ground at Del Rio bridge. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, shared shocking new footage from the Del Rio bridge, where migrants waiting to be processed have allegedly doubled in a day Thursday on "Hannity." SEN. TED CRUZ: The answer is simple that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are absolute hypocrites, those 10,000 people there, do you know how many Border Patrol has tested? Zero, not one. They don't have the capacity to do that."

New York Post: FAA grounds Fox News drones near where thousands of migrants are sheltering under a bridge
"Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who was in Del Rio Thursday night, slammed the restriction as "ridiculous" and said he had ‘never seen anything like that.' ‘The drone footage started this morning, and people across the country were horrified, and I guess the political operatives at the Biden White House saw that and decided the last thing they want is Fox News actually reporting on what's happening down here,' he said. Cruz told Fox News' Sean Hannity that the scene under the bridge was "the most horrific thing I've ever seen. Right now, as we're speaking, there are 10,503 people under that bridge. It is packed in as a mass of humanity. The scope of it, until you see it ... it just goes on and on and on. Infants, little children, people struggling enormously.' Fox News has reported that most of the migrants who wait under the bridge are Haitians and their numbers have increased from around 4,000 Wednesday morning to the number quoted by Cruz Thursday night. ‘This is a man-made crisis,' the senator said."

RedState: Cruz Nails Biden for Interfering With Fox Coverage of Massive Illegal Alien Influx
"Fox's Bill Melugin has been reporting about the crisis at the border for months. We've shown you some of his incredible work before, with the CBP just opening the gates at different points and allowing people to walk in and onto buses to be processed. Yesterday, he posted incredible pictures of the thousands of illegal aliens who crossed the border and were congregating under the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas waiting to be processed by the CBP. Melugin later posted there were actually 9,300 people under the bridge, that it has increased from 4,000 the day before. Governor Greg Abbott then announced he was closing six points of entry at the request of the CBP because they could no longer control the situation. But then he announced that six hours later, the Biden Administration pulled that back and was going to let the border be overwhelmed, handling this as badly as the withdrawal in Afghanistan."

###