top border patrol officials tell our julia ainsley it's like nothing they've seen before. >> reporterorching summer heat, tonight the record migrant surge is growing. 210,000 apprehensions by border patrol in july. a more than 20-year high. and 19,000 unaccompanied children were picked up, the largest number ever recorded. here in the del rio sector, officials say hundreds of migrants have been under this bridge and worried about the threat of covid. i.c.e. is stepping in to provide tests and even offer vaccines. and in the rio grande valley, we saw a massive group of migrants kept tucked under a bridge by those trees is this a breakdown of the system? >> this is not seasonal. i think that we're dealing with is much different than in the past. >> reporter: deputy border chief ruhle ortiz telling us the biden administration is now deporting more families who don't qualify for asylum. >> friday we had our first flight, central americans, northern triangle countries back to central america. these are family units. >> reporter: we met 1-year-old angel who slept under the bridge with his p

with me now, julia ainsley who has been following these developments. what is the latest?d forth between what's happening in texas and what's happening at the federal level when it comes to immigration. this latest is a move by the justice department to stop texas governor greg abbott from instructing his state troopers to stop anyone who might be moving immigrants who are undocumented. he says, the governor says, to stop the spread of covid. but the way the justice department responded to this is this could actually increase the spread of covid-19. right now, a lot of immigrants are in overcrowded shelters, detention centers. in order to move them out, whether it's to go live with their families or to go to other detention centers, they need to be able to put them on buses. this is very common, not new to the biden administration. immigrants have been transported out of the state of texas throughout many administrations. and the idea that they would stop their transportation means there could be a huge bottleneck at the border, and doj argues that's worse for public healt

julia ainsley is with me. what happens now? where does this go?rom your conversations with some of these folks? >> hallie, i even just got new information minutes ago from another ngo, the association of wartime allies, and this is a coalition of a lot of these groups, a lot of them former veterans trying to get people out of afghanistan, now a lot of those allies who worked with the united states, and they put a number on it. they said that there are about 118,000 eligible afghans and their families who would be eligible for evacuations, but so far, the pentagon has said they've only been able to evacuate about 7,000 of those eligible afghans and their families, so really it's a small fraction and what they're doing now and they look to those left behind is many of them are telling them stay where you are, because the situation at the land borders where they have to go now because the airport is closed seems to be in such doubt. there are taliban checkpoints along the road and what used to be a ticket out, proof of work with the americans is now

let's bring in julia ainsley. going to be against the supreme court ruling, going to be disappointed by the supreme court ruling, but does this not offer them a bit of -- a chance to take a breath and slow the rate of those migrants flooding across the southern border? >> joe, i have heard from some sources, some people who have been working with customs and border protection throughout different administrations, including can the trump administration that they did breathe that sigh of relief. i was down at the border earlier this month and i did see shelters completely overcrowded, thousands of immigrants packed under bridges not to mention the covid fears right now at play. but right now hearing more from the human rights side of things and people within the biden administration who wanted to undo the trump legacy on immigration is this is not a way to treat people. human rights first said under the policy that existed under the trump administration, there were over 1,500 reports of rape, torture, murder in nort

julia ainsley has more. >> we learned over the weekend that i.c.e.f some ingrant families. that is because of border patrol stations and the number of families that surged this summer coming across the border. it lead to covid-19 spread, other viruss, hies outbreaks, and a lot of families are being released into the united states without being given a court day. they are saying this is part of a promise that is not enforced at the border. now i.c.e. will be involved. it is really interested an it is an unprecedented move. now they are in charge of taking in families and covid tests, wellness screenings and when they depart ice detense they will be given a court date and an ankle monitor. that's actually normal practice. so this response is unprecedented because this is now a problem that biden administration doesn't want to continue to go on and it shows this is different from what the president just say when you see a surge in the summer saying it was seasonal. so we will have to watch and see what happens. people that i have spoken to says that i.c

nbc correspondent julia ainsley got access between one former captain and his afghan interpreter.rpreter and his family on a flight. can you take us in these conservations? >> they were incredibly heartbreaking to witness. i spoke with him who was communitying with his former interpreter who is there with his three daughters and wife outside of the airport in kabul trying to figure out how to get them on a flight and keep up his moral. he says i wish i could switch places with you. remember when that truck got blown up? when they hit us with the ied, he said i still remember that. trammill said i was so scared and you helped me be brave. i had to stay and fight for you guys and the soldiers. he said yes, sir, i'm scared for my family. i had the pleasure of talking with him and his family outside of the airport where he told me i wasn't just an interpreter. i was working with them as a brother, building bridges, they should help me, my kids, my wife from this situation. he said he could not shelter in place. he left his house because of the security situation. if the u.s. governmen

nbc's julia ainsley joins us now by phone. julia, what more have you learned?crowding in these facilities. we've seen this happen before with children, but now they say, with an increase in families coming in, they're worried about the spread of covid-19, as well as other viruses, lice, and it's really just become an unhealthy and unsustainable situation at these border processing facilities, especially over the last week, as it's grown worse. that has triggered a number of senior-level phone calls between the white house and dhs, as this administration grapples with what to do and they say that they really have tried to keep the humane conditions here at the forefront, trying to make them as humane as possible. what that has now led to that we can report tonight is that i.c.e. will be stepping in, in an unprecedented way. they will start to transfer families out of border patrol custody, into i.c.e. custody, and i.c.e. officers will be doing what they call the processing, helping with medical screenings, covid-19 tests, even offering them vaccines, connecting

joining us, julia ainsley back from del rio and mccallum, texas. just at the border a couple months ago in late may. we were talking about a surge then. what i saw this week was unlike anything i have seen in years of reporting. it used to be shelters they talked about that are full, used to be two or three buses of migrants a day. we saw two or three buses in an hour. we are talking about historic surge that's not over overwhelming what the federal response should be but people, the lawyers, the sheriffs, mayors of towns say they don't have the money to accommodate the people, add on covid exposures they're worried about. they're reaching out for help as urgently as they can get it. >> can hhs, dhs bring in more people from health and human services to try to get shelter to the people? >> health and human services provides shelter for unaccompanied children. >> couldn't it be extended to families with these babies? >> those people go to i.c.e. i.c.e. is stepping in, doing something they've never done before. as of this weekend, they're coming in,

that's nbc's julia ainsley with the latest on the situation at the southern border tonight. >>> well, it is the top of the hour and it's very good to be with you tonight. we are waiting to learn the next steps for the house select committee that's investigating january 6th. lawmakers huddled behind closed doors last night, after some emotional testimony this week. >>> simone biles is out for at least two of the four individual competitions in the olympic finals, after sparking pa big conversation about mental health. hers is just one big story this week about the ways we show up for each other. to give a teammate a break, to defend democracy, to stop a pandemic, or anything else that matters to us. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, i'm joshua johnson. welcome to "the week." . >>> the working weekend on capitol hill tonight and the senate is still holding a rare saturday session. we are waiting for the final text of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, apparently it could come at any time. meanwhile, last night, president biden signed a $2.1 billion spending package that con

julia ainsley joins us with her latest reporting and how those americans will leave as well. coming right back at usaa, we've been called too exclusive. because we were created for officers. but as we've evolved with the military, we've grown to serve all who've honorably served. no matter their rank, or when they were in. a marine just out of basic, or a petty officer from '73. and even his kids. and their kids. usaa is made for all who've honorably served and their families. are we still exclusive? absolutely. and that's exactly why you should join. ♪ ♪ are we still exclusive? absolutely. we are the next. the next generation of visionaries. rule breakers. game changers. and world beaters. we were built to perform on the biggest stages. but we certainly aren't here to do what's been done before. and neither are we. at palo alto networks, we are ready to secure our digital future. as companies innovate to transform, we innovate to outpace cyberthreats. so you can embrace technology with confidence and make the next day safer than the one before. we've got next. does your deod

the historic scope of the migrant surge, top border patrol officials tell nbc news correspondent julia ainsleyds of mike grants have been packed under this bridge and are worried about the spread of covid. isis setting in to provide tests and offer vaccines. in the rio grande valley, we saw a massive group of mike grants kept under a bridge by the trees. is this a breakdown of the system? >> this is not san antonio am. i feel what we are dealing with is much biff than what seen in the past. >> reporter: he tells us the biden administration is now deporting more families who don't qualify for asylum. >> friday we had our first plate, central american, northern triangle countries, back to central america these are family units. >> reporter: we met a one-year-old onja. they brought him here from inaugural nicaragua. >> we had nowhere to sleep ep. we had to sleep on the dirt, itself. >> reporter: the biden administration is facing growing backlash over the border policy including the unprecedented step of releasing 50,000 mike grants into the u.s. without court daughter. the county sheriff. >> it

steve: will be covering it all day long we go to julia with other news and we start down in the miami area. ainsley video showing what they call astronomical corrosion of the building debris the national institute of standards and technology announcing it will conduct a five prong investigation into the towers that killed 98 people they are inviting members of the public amid any information with videos, photos or other documentation that might help in their investigation. a texas court sitting upon some greg abbott's order to curb migrant transports at the border pre-he also banned the transfer of migrants within texas by anyone other than the law enforcement. abbott says the effort will prevent the spread of covid-19 for migrants and the judge says texas has not proven migrants contribute as a state. illinois governor institute an indoor mask mandate for residents regardless of the vaccination status starting monday although those two and up need to mask up the governor issues a vaccine mandate for all in illinois students and school workers, those who do not get vaccinated will be required to ge