US border patrol closes bridge to Juárez after rumor causes migrant rush

Hundreds of migrants tried to race across the Paso del Norte bridge to El Paso after false internet post said the border was open

Hundreds of people near an El Paso, Texas, border crossing who tried to enter the US from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Sunday were met with physical barricades erected by shield-wielding authorities, according to reports on what is the latest episode to pit US immigration officials against a group of migrants.

Many of the migrants, who were largely Venezuelan, had gone to the center of the Paso del Norte international bridge to determine whether a rumor that the border had been temporarily opened to them was true, the Texas Tribune reported. Many trying to flee lives in Mexico, where they can’t legally work and are often confronted by police, had hurried through toll booths on the Mexican side of the bridge and arrived at the center.