Officials: Haitian migrants overtake Border Patrol bus after realizing they were being deported

KINGSVILLE, Texas (KWTX) - A group of migrants from Haiti allegedly attempted to escape while aboard a Border Patrol transport bus Monday afternoon, according to a report by KIII-TV in South Texas.

KIII-TV, citing information from Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick, reported the migrants were being transported to Del Rio from Brownsville, Texas on Highway 77.

When the migrants realized they were being deported, they started fighting with Border Patrol agents and forced the bus to stop. Kirkpatrick told KIII-TV the migrants ran away in an effort to escape, but law enforcement officers who responded to the scene eventually detained them.

Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, acknowledged the incident during a news conference with Texas Governor Greg Abbott in Del Rio, Texas on Tuesday.

Judd praised Abbott for sending troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety to the border to help overwhelmed Border Patrol agents.

“When the migrants found out they were going to be sent back to Haiti, they took the bus over and they fled. If it wasn’t for the men and women in uniform, DPS, we do not know what would have happened,” said Judd.

The Associated Press reports more than 6,000 Haitians and other migrants had been removed from an encampment at Del Rio, Texas, U.S. officials said Monday as they defended a strong response that included immediately expelling migrants to their impoverished Caribbean country.

If you want to read the full article from KIII-TV click here.