Several South Texas counties issued disaster declarations as the Title 42 immigration order expired Thursday and amid predictions that waves of illegal immigrants will cross the border in the coming days.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez on Thursday issued (pdf) a disaster declaration, allowing his county to obtain relief funds. The county sits across the Rio Grande from Tamaulipas, Mexico, and there have been reports of thousands of would-be illegal immigrants located across the river waiting to cross.
Around the same time, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, too, issued a disaster declaration on Thursday “in response to the imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from the Border Security Disaster,” according to a statement from his office. The “Border Security Disaster” went into effect immediately and will last for seven days until further review, his office said….