The crisis in the U.S.-Mexico border is reaching unprecedented levels under the Biden administration, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials experiencing more than 500,000 migrant encounters since October 1. The total number of encounters reached a shocking 575,409 as of December 22, according to sources familiar with the matter.
While the Biden administration has yet to release official numbers, experts anticipate border encounters for November to be over 200,000, or near the record-setting October sum.
In fact, the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing approximately 18,000 border patrol agents, claims there were 209,000 migrant apprehensions in November, the highest number ever recorded for the month of November.
Of the migrants encountered by CBP officials this fiscal year, approximately 177,818 were expelled under Title 42 – a Trump-era immigration policy that reduced the number of asylum seekers allowed in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This policy was set to expire on December 21, but the Biden administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay its expiration until after Christmas.
In a filing on Tuesday, the administration admitted that the end of Title 42 will likely result in “disruption and a temporary increase in unlawful border crossings,” but still asked the court to allow it to expire.
The remaining 397,591 migrants who interacted with CBP personnel have been released into the U.S. This situation is made even more dangerous by the freezing temperatures and wintry conditions at the border in recent weeks, which have made crossing the border extremely perilous.
Migrants who are camping out near the border in makeshift shelters or outside overcrowded holding facilities are also facing freezing conditions.
The El Paso sector has been particularly hard-hit, with 150,236 encounters since October 1 – a figure that matches previous monthly highs for the entire U.S.-Mexico border.
In response, the Texas Military Department has announced the deployment of an additional 200 Texas National Guard soldiers and 40 “high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles” to El Paso, on top of the 400 soldiers already deployed there.
The situation in El Paso has become so dire that Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency during a press conference on Saturday, saying he could no longer keep residents safe as border crossings have overwhelmed law enforcement and other city resources.
It is clear that the Biden administration’s open borders policies are causing a humanitarian and security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Rather than addressing this crisis, the Biden administration is more concerned with ending Trump-era policies and dismantling border security measures.
This reckless and irresponsible approach is putting the lives of migrants and American citizens at risk and must be stopped immediately. It is time for the Biden administration to take decisive action and secure the border, rather than continuing to pander to the radical left and their open borders agenda.
