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Photos: Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Deputy Ruben Salinas, lower right, of the Hidlago County Constable Department, escorts a group of Guatemalans to Border Patrol officials after they crossed the Rio Grande near Anzalduas Park outside McAllen, Texas. The group spent 3 weeks traveling across Mexico.

Deputy Ruben Salinas, lower right, of the Hidlago County Constable Department, escorts a group of Guatemalans to Border Patrol officials after they crossed the Rio Grande near Anzalduas Park outside McAllen, Texas. The group spent 3 weeks traveling across Mexico.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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A surge in immigrants entering the United States from Central America has immigration officials scrambling on where to place them. Detention centers are overflowing and rumors have spread throughout Latin America that families accompanied by children can get into the country without being deported. Ground zero for the crisis is the Rio Grande Valley and the struggle to control the surge is playing out in Mission’s expansive Anzalduas Park, which adjoins the Rio Grande.

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Deputy Ruben Salinas climbs a trail often used by people entering the country illegally south of McAllen, Texas. Salinas said that over the past few weeks he has seen as many as 120 people an hour cross over.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

A group of 16 Guatemalans receive instructions from an Hidalgo County Constable after they crossed the Rio Grande near Anzalduas Park outside McAllen, Texas.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Women and children are stopped in a park near McAllen, Texas, after they crossed the Rio Grande at Reynosa.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Deputy Ruben Salinas, left, of the Hidlago County Constable Department, questions a group of 16 Guatemalans after they crossed the Rio Grande near Anzalduas Park outside McAllen, Texas.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Two men fish on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande outside of Mission, Texas. This part of the river is a popular and common crossing point, by foot or boat, for people coming into the country illegally.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Deputy Ruben Salinas, of the Hidlago County Constable Department, closes the gate to Anzalduas Park outside McAllen, Texas. The park is a popular crossing point for people who walk or boat across the Rio Grande.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

A Border Patrol sentry looms over a spillway running off of the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Larisa Lara says goodbye to Sister Norma Pimentel, left, at a donation center set up at the Sacred Heart Church in downtown McAllen, Texas. Lara and her daughter spent 3 days in the Border Patrol processing facility before being released. A volunteer holds her 6-month-old daughter Annie.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Donations pile up at the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas, for immigrants who are making their way north to family and employment.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Larisa Lara and her 6-month-old daughter Annie are from Honduras.   (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Larisa Lara holds her 6-month-old daughter Annie, as she boards a bus at the McAllen, Texas, bus terminal. Lara spent 10 days crossing Mexico with her daughter and is planning on going to Dallas to join her father.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

A mother clutches the hand of her daughter as they make their way to a Catholic school in Brownsville, Tex. that was offering the immigrants food, clothing and water before they departed to other points in the country.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Marjorie Rodriguez, 9, smiles at her sister through the window of a classroom at the Immaculate Conception school in Brownsville, Texas. Rodriguez traveled with her family from Honduras.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Miriam Vanessa Diaz changes the diaper on her 2-year-old son Walter on the floor of a classroom in Brownsville. The Immaculate Conception School in Brownsville is offering the immigrants water, clothing and a place to wash up after their days long processing at the border.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Miriam Vanessa Diaz brushes the teeth of her 2-year-old son Walter in Brownsville. Diaz, from Honduras, made the journey across Mexico in a week.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

Miriam Vanessa Diaz looks through donated clothing in a classroom in Brownsville. The Immaculate Conception School in Brownsville is offering the immigrants water, clothing and a place to wash up after their days long processing at the border.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

Immigration crisis in the Rio Grande Valley

A school in Brownsville, Texas, is offering immigrants water, clothing and a place to wash up after their processing at the border.  (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)

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