Venezuelan Mob Storms El Paso Border Crossing Sunday

EL PASO – Hundreds of illegal migrants tried to storm the US-Mexico border in El Paso on Sunday, after a rumor that migrants would be allowed to cross into the United States.

Around noon, a large crowd of mainly Venezuelan citizens began to gather near the entrance of a bridge connecting Juarez to El Paso.

Reporters in El Paso say they were frustrated by delays and difficulties in applying for asylum in the United States after journeys thousands of miles long through Central America and Mexico, some told AFP they thought they would be allowed entry because of a supposed "day of the migrant" celebration.

The bridge, the northbound crossing linking the downtowns of El Paso and Juárez, began reopening at about 6 p.m. after migrants left. The protest also caused disruptions at the Stanton Street Bridge and the Bridge of the Americas, Maier said.

Images on social media showed a group that included many women and children running towards the border, shouting "to the USA."

Customs and Border Protection closed the Paso del Norte Bridge to vehicular traffic and to pedestrian traffic from both directions. Dozens of agents carrying riot shields waited behind barricades and barbed wire. Personnel from the Texas Department of Public Safety also took up positions alongside CBP officers. Some CBP officers wore gas masks.

It is not the first time that rumors of a border opening provoke mass attempts at bridge or river crossings. In November, about 800 illegal migrants crossed the Rio Grande after rumors that Title 42 had been lifted spread through the Venezuelan camp on the south bank of the river.