The ongoing crisis at the southern border has continued to worsen as a record number of unlawful migrants crossed into the U.S. early this week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the single highest number of unlawful migrant encounters in a day in recent memory, Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins posted to the social media platform X. He reported on Monday morning that there had been approximately 11,000 migrant encounters over the previous 24 hours.
BREAKING: CBP sources tell FOX News.. There were approximately 11,000 migrant encounters at the SW border in the last 24 hours marking the “single highest day in recent memory.”
In Eagle Pass alone, there were more than 4000 from Fri-Sun/weekend @FoxNews
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) September 25, 2023
Jenkins added that the city of Eagle Pass experienced an influx of more than 4,000 unlawful migrants over the weekend.
The increasing number of unlawful migrants flowing into the city led Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr. to file an emergency disaster declaration last week, as reported by The Dallas Express. This allows the city to seek state and federal government assistance.
Another post from Jenkins included a photo of a Border Patrol agent he claimed was assaulted by a smuggler moving migrants. It reportedly took three agents to subdue the alleged smuggler.
*GRAPHIC WARNING* These images show a BP Agent in the RGV assaulted by a smuggler moving migrants. Took 3 agents to get him down. The cartel marked him a “rat” hence the “RATA” tattooed on his forehead. BPAs are increasingly facing assaults and violent smugglers @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/GTPyMUaMZI
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) September 25, 2023
Documents obtained by The Washington Free Beacon indicate that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had been expecting an increase in unlawful migrants crossing into the country in the coming months.
These documents showed a spike in unlawful migrant apprehensions at the border since May, as well as a growing number of people on the Mexican border waiting to cross into the U.S. at the start of September, per the Free Beacon.
Federal attempts to manage the increase in unlawful migrants entering the country have been met with mixed reviews.
On September 20, DHS announced that roughly 500,000 Venezuelans, whether lawful or unlawful, would be allowed to apply for work authorization.
This decision allows the migrants to legally obtain paid employment and potentially afford housing, thus reducing the financial strain felt by the cities that had to previously house and support them, per The New York Times.
However, as reported by The Dallas Express, entities like New York City Council’s bipartisan Common-Sense Caucus have argued that the move would end up “incentivizing more migrants to come here” and “exacerbate” the immigration crisis.
In addition, the U.S. and Mexico came to an agreement last week in which Mexico promised to deport unlawful migrants from border cities and return them to their home countries. The hope is that, as a result, fewer unlawful migrants will enter the U.S., as reported by The Dallas Express.
Meanwhile, cities along the border have struggled to deal with the surge of unlawful migrants into the country.
In El Paso, these arrivals prompted the city to open an overflow shelter originally set up “out of an abundance of caution,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
To support these border cities, Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to “deploy additional buses to Eagle Pass and El Paso to assist these border communities overwhelmed and overrun by Presiden Joe Biden’s border crisis,” according to The Dallas Express.
While Texas border cities are experiencing the largest influx of unlawful migrants, cities across the country have also reported difficulties dealing with the number of arrivals.
Eric Adams, mayor of New York City — one destination of Abbott’s busing initiative — warned residents earlier this month of a “financial tsunami” on the horizon due to the migrant crisis.
“This is not a utopia. New York City cannot manage 10,000 people a month with no end in sight. That can’t happen, and that is going to undermine this entire city,” said Adams, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
