Fox Surveys Horde at the Border With Help From Texas After Feds Ground the Network: ‘Wow, that is a Lot of People Down There’

Texas law enforcement officials gave Fox News Channel a helping hand on Friday when the Federal Aviation Administration ground the network’s drones over the border.

FNC’s Bill Melugin relayed the situation from a helicopter over Del Rio that was provided by Texas officials. “The FAA grounded our Fox News drones,” Melugin noted. “The troopers with Texas DPS were kind enough to let us go up in their helicopter with them to get a look at the situation on this bridge right now.”

Footage showed around 11,000 migrants massed at an international bridge waiting to be processed by border control authorities. The motley assembly includes arrivals from a number of countries, but predominantly Haiti. Officials say many of the arrivals came by way of a smuggling route maintained by a Mexican cartel.

In addition to those trying to enter the country legally, footage captured many in the group crossing the Rio Grande on a dam, dirt paths, and other venues in an effort to breach the U.S. illegally.

While officials are allowing migrants to cross the river unimpeded, the FAA on Thursday placed a two-week flight restriction on the drones used by media outlets attempting to record the scene. Fox said the agency lifted the restriction on its drones on Friday after it successfully applied for clearance, but not before Texas officials offered their assistance.

“This is a nonstop trail of migrants crossing the Rio Grande in multiple areas,” Melugin said, as footage showed the throng of people. “This is a steady line of hundreds of people … crossing from Mexico as we speak, right now, arriving in the United States illegally. Wow, that is a lot of people down there. … It almost looks like a water park.”

Watch above via Fox News.