Unlawful crossings into the U.S. remain high despite thousands having been incarcerated for trespassing.
Roughly 10,000 unlawful migrants have been arrested in Gov. Greg Abbott’s “arrest and jail” operation since it first began in 2021, according to CBS Texas.
The operation involves border landowners coming to an agreement with the Texas government that allows state law enforcement officers to arrest people who are trespassing on private property.
As a result, the state government has the authority to arrest many of the unlawful migrants who enter Texas through these private properties.
Despite the operation, however, the number of people unlawfully entering the state remains at an all-time high.
As covered in The Dallas Express, CBP reported 14,509 encounters with unlawful migrants in a single day last week, describing the number as “the most-ever immigrants encountered at the southern border.”
Additionally, CBP confirmed that there have already been more than 250,000 encounters with unlawful migrants at the border in December.
Due to these numbers, December is currently on pace to break the previous record of encounters in a single month from September, when there were 269,735 encounters.
Texas recently began flying unlawful migrants to sanctuary cities across the country in an escalation of the busing program that has sent more than 85,000 people out of the state.
The governor also signed Senate Bill 4 into law, which will make unlawful entry into the state a crime while also allowing state law enforcement officers to apprehend those who are suspected of breaking the law.
Abbott claimed just prior to signing the bill, along with two other border security bills, that the new laws “will help stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas.”
However, many officials, such as U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), have spoken out and presented concerns about the new law.
Castro posted on social media, describing it as “a dangerous new law targeting immigrants + everyone who looks like them.”
Included in the post was a signed letter from Castro and 20 other members of Congress asking U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to take action and stop the law from taking effect.
