LAREDO, Texas (AP) — The surge of immigrants into southernmost Texas has so overwhelmed the Border Patrol there that it’s run out of room for detainees even in a neighboring sector.

Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley have made nearly 160,000 arrests in less than eight months, a more than 70 percent increase on last year. Last week, the agency shipped hundreds of those recent detainees to Laredo for processing. By the weekend, the overcrowding in that neighboring sector’s stations had become serious, said Laredo Fire Chief Steve Landin, who sent a fire marshal to inspect one station.