Huge pile of trash and wet clothes dubbed 'the mattress' discarded by migrants crossing into Texas

United States Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 67,000 illegal immigrants flooding into the country last week - as video revealed a grotesque patch of wet clothing, drugs and other garbage abandoned by migrants, dubbed 'the mattress.'

Border reporter Todd Bensman documented the great patch of abandoned soggy clothing, and spoke with a Texas National Guardsman about why members of the agency colloquially refer to it as 'the mattress.'

Bensman can be heard saying that in addition to abandoned clothing, the pile contains feces, medication, diapers and syringes. 

The Guardsman, who was heard but not seen in Bensman's video, told him that the pile was given its nickname because it is soft, and there's no way to know what you might find inside it.

'It's soft but ... there's no telling what you're getting on ya if you fall into this,' said the agent of the pile located on the bank opposite Matamoros - a city in Mexico across from Brownsville.

Last Thursday, Title 42, the Trump era immigration restriction designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was lifted. In the days leading up to that policy lapsing, border agents saw a massive influx of migrants attempting to illegally enter the country just under the wire.

As a result, the number of illegal migrants who crossed the border last week jumped to nearly 70,000, from 50,000 the week before.

Now, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is claiming that the lifting of Title 42 is quelling the number of migrants attempting to trespass into the country.

Prior to the Thursday night end to the policy, upwards of 10,000 migrants per day were streaming across the border. Mayorkas said the number dropped to 6,300 encounters on Friday and about 4,200 on Saturday.

'Over the past two days, the United States Border Patrol has experienced a 50 percent drop in the number of encounters versus what we were experiencing earlier in the week before Title 42 ended at midnight on Thursday,' he told the host of CNN's 'State of the Union'

'It is still early. We are in day three. But we have been planning for this transition for months and months.'

It is yet to be seen whether the numbers will die down, per Mayorkas' prediction, but on Friday, United States Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz shared a tweet illuminating what his officers encountered over the last seven days.

Migrants wait to board a bus in downtown Brownsville, Texas to arrive at their final destination in the United States Thursday, May 11, 2023 as Title 42 comes to an end

More than $83,000 in cash was seized by border patrol agents last week

Migrants wait in line for a food handout outside at a processing center on May 11, 2023 in Brownsville, Texas. The US on May 11, 2023, will officially end its 40-month Covid-19 emergency, also discarding the Title 42 law, a tool that has been used to prevent millions of migrants from entering the country

Shocking video shows huge pile of trash and wet clothes dubbed 'the mattress' discarded by migrants crossing illegally into Brownsville

Nearly 500 pounds of drugs were seized by border patrol agents last week

56 pounds of Fentanyl were found and confiscated last week

Migrants walk to a bus station after being released from a respite center at the Texas-Mexico border, Thursday, May 11, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas

In this aerial picture taken on May 11, 2023 people push a float with migrants across the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico, in Brownsville, Texas

Ortiz wrote that three of his agents were assaulted, $83,557 of cash was seized, nearly 500 pounds of drugs were confiscated, including 56 pounds of fentanyl, and seven firearms were taken.

Five sex offenders, four gang members, two felons and one subject with five warrants out against him were also apprehended. 

In addition to 67,759 apprehensions, approximately 15,780 illegal migrants were tallied as 'gotaways,' a term for illegal immigrants who have been spotted crossing the border by agents or on camera, but were not caught or processed by officials.

Statistics published by the U.S Customs and Border Protection show that in March of this year there have been 257,910 nationwide encounters across all borders.

The figures for March brought the total number of encounters to 1,544,087 this year. 

Current trends could see the total number of crossings break last year's record of 2.76 million.

The latest numbers and reversal of Title 42 come after the Biden administration said they would be setting up migrant processing centers in Central and South America in an attempt to expedite deportations and further deter illegal immigration to the US.

The first centers will be located in Colombia and Guatemala, two countries that have developed key stoppage points for those wishing to travel to the border.

President Biden has also authorized the Army Reserves to deploy to the southern border as border patrol offices remain woefully understaffed to deal with and process the number of migrants gushing across the border.

One of the haul of drugs that was recovered by Border Patrol over the last week of April

Title 42 allowed for the expedited expulsion of migrants from the U.S. in the midst of the public health emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Republicans and border hawks have been highly critical of Title 42 ending, claiming there is no alternative to ensure the southern border is not overrun and even more overwhelmed that it already is.

Internal projections show that migration at the southern border could spike by a whopping 10,000 to 13,000 per day now that the policy has lapsed.

But, so far, that is not what Mayorkas says the agency's he oversees are experiencing.

'We have communicated very clearly a vitally important message to the individuals who are thinking of arriving at our southern border: There is a lawful, safe and orderly way to arrive in the United States,' he said during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC's This Week.

'That is through the pathways that President Biden has expanded in an unprecedented way. 

'And then there's a consequence if one does not use those lawful pathways, and that consequence is removal from the United States, deportation and encountering a five-year ban on reentry, and possible criminal prosecution.'