LAREDO, Tx. (KGNS) - At around 7p.m. on Thursday, June 1, the Gateway to the Americas pedestrian bridge on the United States side and the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) were suddenly closed without any official explanation. With traffic cones blocking the bridge’s entrance, a growing crowd of individuals has gathered, waiting for a way to cross the international border.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency responsible for overseeing border crossings, has not given an official reason behind the closure and no estimated timeline has been provided.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been revised to indicate detention numbers from May 2023 compare to May 2019 data)

HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has had a big drop of detainees in ICE custody and reflects decreasing numbers of migrant encounters since Title 42 was lifted.

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, of Syracuse University, which tracks all immigration cases nationwide, found the number of asylum-seekers in ICE detention was 27,330 at the end of May; that’s down from nearly 40,000 in May 2019.

Of those detained, 61% — or 16,705 — had no criminal record, according to TRAC data.

Most of the detainees are in Texas, which has nearly 10,000 in custody, TRAC said.

The South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas and the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, each have over 1,200 migrants in custody, as of May 21, according to ICE data analyzed by TRAC.

The Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego had 750 in custody, and the El Paso Service Processing Center had 600, TRAC reported.

Title 42 was lifted by the Biden administration on May 11. The pandemic-era health policy prevented migrants from claiming asylum at the U.S. border in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Title 42 had been in place since March 2020, and when it was lifted, it was replaced by Title 8 removal orders.

Under Title 8, asylum seekers must apply for asylum interviews using the CBP One app. Interviews are conducted at Southwest border ports of entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Migrants can also apply for interviews at processing centers that the U.S. State Department is opening in Latin American and Caribbean countries with the United Nations.

Asylum-seekers also must claim asylum in the first countries they cross before coming to the United States.

Those who do not take these “legal pathways” are subject to removal and withdrawal from the United States, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Blas Nunez-Neto said Wednesday as he visited South Texas.

“We have seen, and I think everybody knows, a significant decrease in encounters at the border. More than 70% reduction since the lifting of Title 42,” Nunez-Net said.

And he warned that migrants who have been removed because they do not meet the requirements to claim humanitarian parole in the United States must wait five years before trying to cross again. If they enter before that, they face criminal prosecution and a possible 20-year ban.

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - After two years of service with the Laredo Police Department, an officer is getting recognized for going above and beyond.

Ricardo Javier Lopez was named Officer of the Year during Police Week. Lopez is currently a patrol officer and has led his team to make 68 arrests over the last year. Lopez says his uncle was the one who inspired him to join the force. “I have an uncle who is in law enforcement as well, he was like my father figure growing up and he inspired me. To see the wisdom and integrity that he has, the way this job made him a great man, and the knowledge he has really inspired me,” said Lopez.

In 2022, Lopez issued 147 citations and initiated 433 cases

LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - On Tuesday, May 30, the Laredo Police Department confirmed the city is past the number of overdose cases seen at this time last year. Laredo police are reporting three overdose cases a week. Police say this is the average number they are reporting only in Laredo.

On Monday, May 29, two more deaths were reported. Police have only identified the two individuals as a man and a woman who were found unresponsive in the front seats of a Jeep SUV outside an apartment complex on San Jose Street and Bartlett Avenue.

According to police the toxicology results are still pending, but preliminary reports indicate both died from a drug overdose. Acting Chief of Police Steve Landin says Laredo is having a major problem with drug consumption and adds that these investigations intend to get to the root of the problem. “Whenever we have a death we work backwards. We try to figure out where the person bought the drugs, and then we try to watch that person and see what that person’s doing, and see if that person is connected to other victims, and if they are, then we’ll try to catch them in the act of selling and then we’ll arrest them,” said Landin.

Landin added that the drugs are coming from the border. He says the police department works hand in hand with the DEA and the District Attorney’s Office.

As of now, police are reporting 36 overdose deaths this year so far. In 2022, there were 40 overdose deaths reported in total.

Police say with school out, they fear the youth might get curious and want to try illegal substances, stating that the first day they try it may also be the last.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation saying he aims to sign a law to prosecute fentanyl deaths as murder.

LAREDO, TX. (KGNS) - A death investigation is underway after two people are found unresponsive inside a truck in central Laredo Monday afternoon.

Laredo Police were seen outside an apartment complex on San Jose and Bartlett shortly after 12 p.m.

Witnesses say two people were found dead inside a truck.

Police believe it’s most likely an overdose case.

The preliminary investigation indicates no signs of foul play; however, an autopsy report is pending.

Last week, police reported 33 overdose deaths so far this year.

No word yet on this week’s number.

Last year, a total of 40 overdose related deaths were reported.