Sheriff Eddie Guerra of the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office said his agency rescued 84 undocumented migrants from a tractor-trailer on Thursday.

"A concerned citizen called to report a tractor trailer arrive at a residence ... and seeing people unloading from the trailer," he said.

Guerra told CNN that the migrants were from Central America, and none reported injuries.

The trailer was spotted about eight miles from the United States/Mexico border.

It’s unclear if the undocumented immigrants will make an asylum claim.

They were rescued amid a rise in apprehension at the border.

Through August, there have been more than 2 million apprehensions at the border in the fiscal year 2022 (which ended in September). Even with a month remaining in the fiscal year, the CBP has already set a record for the number of apprehensions at the border.

Migrants who claim asylum are generally released after being processed by CBP while they await a court hearing. U.S. statistics show that nearly two-thirds of asylum claims are rejected, causing those seeking asylum to be deported.

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. — Nearly a month after public records requests were submitted for any and all documented material about Florida’s controversial migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard last month, the Gov. Ron DeSantis' public records office and Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) made dozens of records public.

The records, which still don’t include detailed contracts, spell out guidelines for the governor’s controversial migrant relocation program and include quotes from three companies who, over the summer, made a play for the gig.

According to the state’s requests for quotes, the state sought services from a “transportation management company to implement and manage a program to relocate out of the state of Florida foreign nationals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

But that’s not what happened last month when two flights picked up nearly 50 asylum-seeking Venezuelans in Texas and then brought them to Martha’s Vineyard on Florida’s dime.

Records show the flight made a brief stop in Crestview, FL, on the way to Martha’s Vineyard, but none of the passengers got off the plane.

“We take what’s going at the southern border very seriously,” said DeSantis, shortly after news of the flights swiftly attracted international attention.

DeSantis wasted no time taking credit for the flights and even revealed his plan to pay for more as a way to open America’s eyes to the border crisis.

“I got $12 million for us to use, and we’re going to use it, and you’re going to see more and more. I’m going to make sure that we exhaust all those funds,” said DeSantis, who continues to double down on the use of $12 million in state funds from interest earned on pandemic relief dollars for the state’s new migrant relocation program.

Ray Ewing/AP

DeSantis said the program is his way of combating what he’s described as Biden’s border crisis.

State records also now confirm Vertol Systems Inc, an aviation company based in Destin, provided the chartered flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

About a week before the flights, Vertol’s CEO, James Montgomerie, sent a memo to FDOT detailing his offer for “the ongoing delivery of these services… on an ongoing month-to-month basis.”

In the memo, Montgomerie added, this “first project shall involve the facilitation of the relocation of up to fifty individuals to the state of Massachusetts or other proximate northeastern state designated by FDOT.”

Vertol’s price for project one— $615,000. Two days later, Florida paid Vertol that exact amount. The company has received another $950,000, though it’s unclear for what since additional records have yet to be made public.

“If you draft your own law and can’t follow it within a few months, that’s a problem,” said Florida State Senator Jason Pizzo of Miami in response to the records.

Last month, Pizzo filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, asking a Judge to ban the administration from using state money to relocate migrants who aren’t even in Florida.

When asked if these recently released state documents prove the administration went outside the scope of its own rules, Pizzo responded, “I think it's pretty clear that someone went back and read what the actual law was, after all of the attention, and will have a difficult time trying to explain their way out of it,” he said.

As for Vertol Systems Inc, its website was taken down after the flights made national headlines. Its CEO, James Montgomerie, has not answered our calls or responded to our multiple messages.

For now, Montgomerie’s only public comments on the flights stem from state records, which primarily discuss money and logistics but end like this, “We welcome the opportunity to support your mission.”

On Monday, the Florida Center for Accountability filed a lawsuit in Leon County alleging the governor’s office did not comply with requests to release all records pertaining to these flights. The governor’s office has said this is the first production of records.

This article was written by Katie LaGrone for WFTS.

Three buses of recent migrant families arrived from Texas near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in the record-setting cold on Christmas Eve.

Texas authorities have not confirmed their involvement, but the bus drop-offs are in line with previous actions by border-state governors calling attention to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

The buses that arrived late Saturday outside the vice president's residence were carrying around 110 to 130 people, according to Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, a relief agency working with the city of Washington to serve thousands of migrants who have been dropped off in recent months.

Local organizers had expected the buses to arrive Sunday but found out Saturday that the group would get to Washington early, Laborde said. The people on board included young children.

Some were wearing T-shirts despite temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 degrees Celsius). It was the coldest Christmas Eve on record for Washington, according to the Washington Post.

Laborde said employees had blankets ready for the people who arrived on Christmas Eve and moved them quickly onto waiting buses for a ride to an area church. A local restaurant chain donated dinner and breakfast.

Most of the arrivals were headed to other destinations and expected to remain in Washington only briefly.

Gov. Greg Abbott's office did not respond to a request for comment Sunday morning. His office said last week that Texas has given bus rides to more than 15,000 people since April to Washington, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, both Republicans, are strong critics of President Joe Biden on his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, where thousands of people are trying to cross daily, many to seek asylum. Officials on both sides of the border are seeking emergency help in setting up shelters and services for migrants, some of whom are sleeping on streets.

Republicans argue Biden and Harris, designated the administration's point person on the root causes of migration, have relaxed restrictions that induced many people to leave their countries of origin. Biden has ended some policies but kept others enacted by former President Donald Trump, whose administration also grappled with spikes in border crossings and at one point separated immigrant families and children as a deterrence initiative.

White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan called the bus drop-offs a “cruel, dangerous, and shameful stunt.”

“As we have repeatedly said, we are willing to work with anyone – Republican or Democrat alike – on real solutions, like the comprehensive immigration reform and border security measures President Biden sent to Congress on his first day in office, but these political games accomplish nothing and only put lives in danger," Hasan said in a statement Sunday.

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Just after sunrise, the rust-colored border wall looks like a snake separating two lands.

For months, migrants have been traveling toward the United States with the hope of seeking a better life. Normally people can present themselves at the U.S. point of entry to request asylum if they’re fleeing from danger. Then they go through a process of having their case heard to see if it’s legitimate. However, current U.S. laws make it nearly impossible for migrants to seek asylum – leaving them stuck at the border.

Esperanza Encampment is the name of the migrant encampment at El Chaparral point of entry. According to Border Angels -- a nonprofit that advocates for human rights -- more than 2,000 people are living there with about eight new families arriving per day. Most of them are fleeing dangerous situations so very few of them feel safe showing their face on camera. One woman willing to show her face is Jessy. We are not sharing her last name for her protection. She left Honduras with two of her kids because their lives were threatened by gang members.

“The gang members entered our apartment and tied us up… they put our kids in danger and gave us three days to leave," Jessy said. "We had to flee from there, from the colony, because they wanted us to pay them 10,000 pesos." (In Spanish: "Las maras entraron a esto apartamento y nos amararron…pusieron a nuestros hijos en peligro y nos dieron tres días para que saliéramos. Huyéndose a que nos salieron de allí, de la colonia, porque querían que les pagáramos diez mil pesos.”)

Jessy says her kids have experienced a lot of trauma.

"My daughter actually had to go to therapy because they put a gun to her head when she was little…she was only 6 years old," Jessy said. "Truth is, it was very bad so we had to leave in a hurry." (In Spanish: Mi niña de hecho tuvo que estar en psicología porque a ella la pusieron la pistola en la cabeza y estaba pequeña…solo tenía seis años. La verdad, fue bien terrible y por eso nosotros teníamos que salir huyendo.”)

They’ve been at Esperanza Encampment for nearly 40 days.

“They're so close to the U.S. and yet still so far on their journey. So, um, I can't describe it in any other way except heartbreaking,” Border Angels executive director Dulce Garcia said.

Border Angels has been supporting the migrants with supplies.

“There’s still a need for food," Garcia said. "Ya know, basic things – food, tarp, blankets.”

Walking around the camp, Garcia shows us how the migrants have formed their own community. They have cooks, security guards and teachers for the kids.

Throughout the day, different church groups and other humanitarian organizations drop off food or something to drink. However, there’s still a huge need for drinkable water. Jessy says many kids have been getting sick.

"The majority of the camp has gotten sick," Jessy said. "The majority in the camp have the flu. They have coughs; most of the kids carry on like this.” (In Spanish: “La mayoría en el campamento se han enfermado. La mayoría en el campamento tienen gripa. Tienen tos, la mayoría de los niños andan todo así.")

These people say they're here because they’re desperate: fleeing political persecution, gang violence, domestic violence and some have lost their homes in hurricanes.

“The forces that are pushing people to leave their home countries have continued and have actually gotten worse with the pandemic,” Human Rights First legal fellow Julia Neusner said.

Human Rights First is an advocacy and action organization. Neusner has been documenting the stories of migrants for a report on a U.S. code that is keeping these migrants at the border.

“Because of Title 42, the border has been closed completely to asylum seekers completely since March 2020,” Neusner said.

Neusner says Title 42 is a rarely used U.S. law that gives government authority to exclude anybody who poses a public health risk to people in the United States. The Trump administration put it into place at the start of the pandemic. The Biden administration has yet to lift it.

“One of the first questions this woman asked us last night was 'how long is this going to take? How long do I have to wait here?' And the answer is, we don't know,” Garcia said.

Garcia says part of the reason there are so many people at the border now is because many have been given misinformation that Title 42 has been lifted.

“There are folks that prey on these people, and they tell them if you give me money, you're going to have your case heard,” Garcia said.

Now thousands of people are stuck in limbo hoping and praying for change.

“They're holding onto hope," Garcia said. "And that's why they camp has been renamed. Esperanza means 'hope' in Spanish. That's, that's all they have. Some of them literally, that's all they have.”

"The goal is that they get the border opened," Jessy said. "That they have compassion for us and let us in because while it is true that we are immigrants, we are not delinquents…We want to be able to work in the United States." (In Spanish: “La meta es que abran la frontera… que tengan compasión de nosotros y nos dejen entrar porque la verdad sí somos inmigrantes, pero no somos delinquentes...queremos ir y trabajar allí en los Estados Unidos”)