Border fencing near Imperial Beach, CA, in the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector, is some of the oldest along the border. The bollard fencing extends into the ocean, and deteriorates more rapidly than in other areas due to saltwater corrosion.

Knowing this, a group of 52 people from Central America “exploit[ed] the corrosion of the bollards…and cut through the chainlink fence,” an act that was caught on video by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Video captured 3/14 shows an illegal crossing of Central American migrants. None of the 52 people surrendered to the #USBP agent on the beach. All 52 people were eventually arrested after a 2 hour foot chase with multiple agents. Once in custody, everyone claimed asylum. #CBP pic.twitter.com/0gxH2lpNQc

— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) March 15, 2019

A Border Patrol agent was waiting on the beach, but the group fled. Eventually all 52 were caught and arrested after being chased by multiple agents over a two-hour period. What did they do when they were caught?

C’mon, guess.

They claimed asylum.

Just 341 feet from where the water meets the sand lies Friendship Circle, an area where people can talk to friends and family on the other side of the border. It is under 24-hour surveillance and Border Patrol staff are always present.

If Friendship Circle was not an attractive place for these people who had already traveled hundreds of miles to reach the United States, just 5.5 miles from the water’s edge sits the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which is equipped to handle asylum requests on site. There was no reason to destroy fencing, run past Border Patrol agents, or to lead those agents on a two-hour chase, unless the group wasn’t really looking for asylum. (Aha!)

The Central American group could have been emboldened by the success of a group a few days earlier – a group with an equally bold approach, but which had the cover of night.

As Border Patrol agents have often said, one tactic smugglers frequently use is to create a distraction by pushing one of their clients off a fence. The rest of the group runs into the country, and usually get away, while Border Patrol agents assist the injured. As this video shows, the smugglers will even hurt young girls – the same young girls progressives believe benefit by the current “non emergency” at the border – to fulfill their goal. Injured or captured “clients” are an acceptable loss.

Last night, a human smuggler dropped two young Salvadoran girls, 6 and 9, from the aging border barrier behind concertina wire. As agents vacated their patrol positions in response, 10 people crossed illegally nearby. They eluded capture. #USBP #CBP #BORDER #BORDERSECURITY pic.twitter.com/t2QNmQLpoK

— CBP San Diego (@CBPSanDiego) March 12, 2019

Because our understaffed Border Patrol agents were rendering aid to the girls who had been treated so cruelly, 10 people who entered the country illegally and escaped. Like their comrades at Imperial Beach, it’s doubtful they were seeking a place to claim asylum.

Thankfully, Border Patrol offices across the country are increasingly using these surveillance video and photos, distributed through their official Twitter and Facebook accounts, to show people what is really happening there without the mainstream media “curating” the information.