Military police deployed to border with Title 42 set to end

Our top story tonight, the U.S. is just hours away from the end of Title 42. All along the border, from Texas to California, migrants are gathering, waiting and hoping to make their way into the United States. This is near the El Paso border. This morning, more than 28,000 migrants were in Customs and Border Protection custody. On Tuesday alone, U.

S. border officials encountered more than 10,000 migrants. And this was the scene today along the border of Matamoros and Brownsville. Soldiers and airmen from the state's Quick Reaction Force marched to the river ahead of midnight. Their commander says these men and women are specially trained and equipped for civil disturbances. Ken's Vives, Alicia Nieves, is live now in Brownsville. She has the latest on the situation at this hour.

Alicia? Well, lots of activity on both sides of the border, ECs, from the migrant camps in Matamoros to right here on the U.S. side of the border in Brownsville. Throughout the day, we've witnessed busloads of migrants come from a processing center that is just beyond this hill right behind me, being bused downtown to Brownsville to a bus station. Once the migrants arrive there, they're on their own to buy their plane ticket, their bus ticket to their next destination. Now this Quick Reaction Force that you just saw with the soldiers, they are military police for Operation Lone Star. Thousands of them have been deployed along 1,254 miles of the border.

They partner with DPS to patrol the border along the river and in the air using drones. What's happened over these last few days, some of these soldiers and airmen had to be reassigned to another spot along the border based on the numbers that officials are seeing right now. These soldiers are from Texas. Their commander told us many are serving in their own backyard. The commander says his biggest challenge right now is the volume as the number of migrants surrendering at the border continues to grow. But whatever midnight brings, he says they'll be ready. Well, we always keep our ear to the ground and have information sharing with our law enforcement partners, especially Department of Public Safety and the municipal agencies.

So if we do think there's a credible threat, obviously we'll reevaluate, but we're well prepared for any contingency. Over the last week, National Guard Engineers placed more than 70 miles of wire fencing along the border in preparation for the end of Title 42. Commander Barker said they're taking proactive measures with these barriers and the additional forces to explain to migrants that coming to the U.S. through ports of entry is way safer instead of crossing the more dangerous route going through the river. Now, Governor Abbott ordered these 500 additional soldiers to come to the border. The last of them arrived in McAllen yesterday.

Coming up, we're learning more about the conversations happening right now in Matamoros. Here why some migrants are preferring to cross before Title 42 ends. We'll explain tonight at 10. Wyvern Brownsville, Alessia Neaves, KENS 5. Thank you, Alessia. New tonight, we're hearing from a witness in the deadly Brownsville crash. He jumped in right away using his training as a firefighter in Venezuela to save lives.

And it was all caught on camera by a bystander who shared the video. Managely Ruiz spoke with that firefighter and a person he helped. 29-year-old Brian Pineda still can't believe what he witnessed Sunday. It all feels so surreal for him. He said he was standing here at the corner and heard the car's motor. He turned around just in time to see the impact. He says after the crash, his reaction was to see what was going on.

And when he saw the magnitude of those injured, he quickly jumped into action. His instinct as a firefighter from Venezuela was to help a man who lost his leg. He was scared he was going to bleed out. So he made a tourniquet with the victim's shirt. He says he started helping other victims checking for pulses. Fortunately, minutes later, paramedics arrived and began transporting patients to the hospital, including the man who lost his leg, Gabriel Gallardo. After voice messages, I spoke to him and he says he remembers waiting for the bus.

And the next thing you know, he was yelling at his friend because his shoes were hurting him. But he told me he's grateful Brian was able to help him. Without him, he doesn't think he would have survived. He feels lucky. Lucky he wasn't standing at that bus stop and lucky to be at the right place at the right time to help others in need. Meanwhile, Brian says he hopes he can continue helping others here in the U.S.

As for Gabriel, he's still in the hospital recovering from his injuries.

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