KENEDY COUNTY — A situation in Kenedy County involving a bus transporting Haitian immigrants escalated Monday afternoon.
The Kenedy County Sheriff's Office, which did not want to speak on-camera, said it received a call for help at about 4:45 p.m. after several immigrants tried to escape from Border Patrol agents stationed on the commercial bus.
The Kenedy Sheriff's Office said that 13 women and children from the bus were trying to stop traffic.
The Kleberg County Sheriff's Office also was called out to help.
Kleberg County Sheriff Richard Kirkpatrick said that the current unrest in Haiti is making migrants resort to anything for a better life.
"They have nothing to lose and, again, it's fueled by this desperation that probably sparks a lot of these incidents with other law enforcement officers from another country" he said.
He also said the situation on the border has affected law-enforcement agencies across the state and the country to the point where his county is going to apply for state funding to help fund more resources.
"We just saw the solicitation, and we are in the process of reviewing that and will be applying for that as soon as possible," he said.
The South Texas Human Rights Center's Eddie Canales said Haitians are unhappy with the state of their country at the moment, and that is why many lash out.
"So the situation is volatile, and very desperate for some individuals to realize, you know, 'We don't want to go back to our home country,' " he said. "And trying to escape or leave the bus."
Both Canales and Kirkpatrick said they hope the situation on the border gets better as times passes.
