Democrats Enabled Biden’s Border Crisis For Too Long. Now They’re Paying At The Ballot Box
Unless Democrats start addressing the border crisis, they are risking not just seats in border states, but losses spanning from coast to coast.Unless Democrats start addressing the border crisis, they are risking not just seats in border states, but losses spanning from coast to coast.The Biden Administration Is Turning The Border Into A Graveyard For Illegal Immigrants
In total, at least 650 people died during their attempts to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021.Biden’s Open Border Policies Are Deadly
A Texas National Guard soldier tragically drowned in the Rio Grande River this week while trying to rescue illegal immigrants from the water.
City of McAllen, Texas, says Biden administration released more than 7,000 COVID-positive migrants into the community
The city of McAllen, Texas, said this week that, since mid-February, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released more than 7,000 illegal immigrants with confirmed COVID-19 cases into their community, including more than 1,500 new cases in just the past week.
Those astounding numbers came as the city announced Tuesday it would create a temporary emergency shelter to provide housing for the overflowing surge of migrants being released into the city by immigration enforcement agents.
The city is now asking Hidalgo County, located in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, to place a "temporary emergency shelter on property in McAllen on 23rd Street for the overwhelming number of immigrants stranded in McAllen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection," according to KVEO-TV.
A press release from McAllen officials asked the Biden administration for relief from the vast numbers of migrants being released into the city.
The current immigration surge began in 2014 under the Obama administration and has continued for seven years to the present surge the community is now experiencing …
For context, in 2020 the total number of Tittle 42 Expulsions on the Southwest Border was 381,928. To date in 2021, in less time, a total of 566,959 Title 42 Expulsions have occurred on the Southwest Border.
Border patrol agents encountered more than 200,000 migrants at the southern border in July, smashing records that were nearly two decades old. During the first 29 days of July, CBP encountered an average of 6,779 individuals per day, including 616 unaccompanied children and 2,583 migrants traveling as families. Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy at the Department of Homeland Security David Shahoulian said in a court filing the agency encountered a "record" 19,000 unaccompanied minors in July, and the second-highest number of family unit encounters at nearly 80,000.
Tens of thousands of these illegal immigrants are being released by the Biden administration after detention without being given a date to appear in court for their immigration cases to be processed.
The press release noted that migrants are being released to a local Catholic charity, the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, which gives them food and housing and has provided this service for the past seven years. However, the recent surge of illegal immigration is overwhelming the charity's ability to help these people, and the matter is complicated by migrants who are sick with COVID-19.
Previously, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley said in a statement that the migrants are tested for COVID before being released. The charity pays for positive cases to be isolated with their families in hotel rooms, where they are instructed to quarantine to prevent the virus from spreading.
"Despite the City of McAllen and its community partners' best efforts, the sheer number of immigrants being released into the city has become a crisis: a crisis the City of McAllen did not create and has proactively tried to avoid for seven years," the charity told KVEO-TV.
The city of McAllen issued a local disaster declaration on Monday, triggering the mechanism for Hidalgo County and the state of Texas to provide additional resources.
Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez, who has called for the federal government to pause migrant releases, said that 16% of the migrants released into Hidalgo County are testing positive for COVID-19.
Local officials say the federal government has been unresponsive to their needs during this crisis.
Report: 'Mass releases' of thousands of illegal immigrants happening in Rio Grande Valley over the weekend
Thousands of illegal immigrants were encountered by overwhelmed Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley over the weekend and are being released and handed bus tickets to wherever they'd like to go in the U.S., according to a reporter.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin reported Monday that local Border Patrol stations near McAllen, Texas, are "585% over capacity" and that there are "mass releases" of illegal immigrants underway.
Another Fox News reporter, Griff Jenkins, added that in the last 24 hours border agents in the Rio Grande Valley had 3,002 encounters with illegal immigrants and that the total number of law enforcement encounters with migrants over the weekend was 8,144.
NEW: Per DHS sources, local Border Patrol stations in McAllen area are currently 585% over capacity and there are “… https://t.co/CJI8CeuWKr
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) 1627915178.0
Record numbers of migrants are seeking illegal entry into the United States. According to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who represents parts of the Rio Grande Valley, Department of Homeland Security agents encountered over 180,000 illegal immigrants at the southern border in July, after encountering 188,829 migrants in June.
Our DHS agents, & border communities, are overwhelmed & must be prioritized. DHS will again encounter over 180,000… https://t.co/9DJMQhIlhq
— Rep. Henry Cuellar (@RepCuellar) 1627771354.0
More than 1.1 million migrants have crossed the U.S. border in the current fiscal year, overwhelming the Biden administration's immigration enforcement agencies.
The surge of migrants is so large that thousands of migrants are being released after detention without being given a date to appear in court and have their immigration cases processed.
The crisis is hitting particularly hard in Cuellar's district, where local officials are pleading with the Biden administration for "immediate and decisive action" to provide more resources for DHS agents in the Rio Grande Valley as well as "the immediate cessation of admissions of additional immigrants."
TheBlaze reached out to DHS for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
On Sunday, Melugin posted drone video footage of "up to 1,000" migrants being held by Border Patrol under the Anzalduas Bridge in Mission, Texas, near an area of the Rio Grande river that's popular for border crossings.
Great work and Incredible footage @BillFOXLA - add to it - in the LAST 24hrs, RGV had 3,002 encounters - an increas… https://t.co/EYlxgw1G2G
— Griff Jenkins (@GriffJenkins) 1627905052.0
After these migrants are apprehended by Border Patrol, they are being released to a Catholic charity that's providing them with food and shelter before they are given bus tickets or air tickets to travel to other places in the U.S., Melugin reports.
"Large groups of migrants being walked to McAllen Central Bus Station by a local Catholic Charity after they were dropped off & released by Border Patrol. This is happening every hour. Migrants are given bus tickets wherever they want to go," Melugin said.
Nonstop mass drop offs from Border Patrol here at the charity. @FoxNews https://t.co/ImjTMlpfns
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) 1627917970.0
The charity, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, have been assisting the migrants with humanitarian aid but they too have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people being sent to them by Border Patrol. The problem is exacerbated by the threat of unvaccinated, COVID-19 positive migrants being released from detention into American communities where they may spread the virus.
Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced he would deploy the Texas National Guard to help federal agents apprehend illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border.
Report: More than 50,000 illegal immigrants caught and released by Biden administration
Catch-and-release is alive and well under the Biden administration as 50,000 migrants who crossed the southern border illegally have been released into the U.S. without a court date. Though migrants are told to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office after they are released from detention, only 13% have done so, Axios reported Tuesday.
The report comes as record numbers of migrants are seeking illegal entry into the United States. Southwest land border encounters have been steadily increasing since President Joe Biden assumed office in January, with 188,829 encounters reported in June, the highest number in decades.
According to Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings, who is in charge of border patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, border agents made 20,000 apprehensions in the area in just one week.
It's the hottest part of the summer and apprehensions are skyrocketing! #USBP Apprehensions surpassed the 1-milli… https://t.co/ru3ykFhTCr
— Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings (@USBPChiefRGV) 1627244218.0
Between mid-March and mid-July, only 6,700 migrants who crossed the southern border followed instructions and showed up at ICE offices to obtain work permits. Data from the Department of Homeland Security shared with Axios indicates 16,000 migrants have not reported to ICE offices within the 60-day timeframe they were given.
Another estimated 27,000 migrants who were apprehended at the border and then released have yet to appear at an ICE office but still have time to do so before their 60 days are up. An official for DHS emphasized that nearly 70% of illegal immigrants are still within the 60-day window to appear at an ICE office, but that doesn't mean they'll show up.
"While individuals have 60 days to check in with ICE, many are proactively reaching out to ICE to begin their official immigration processing, including by receiving a Notice to Appear," said DHS spokesperson Meira Bernstein. "Those who do not report, like anyone who is in our country without legal status, are subject to removal by ICE."
Speaking to Axios, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said that as of Monday, 7,300 migrants in the Rio Grande Valley sector were released by the Biden administration without court dates. Cuellar, who has criticized the president for this "honor system" of releasing migrants without formal notices to appear in immigration court, said the total number of migrants released since March is up to 55,000.
The Biden administration has denied responsibility for the crisis at the southern border, shifting the blame to problems in Central America that are causing some migrants to leave their homes for a better life in the United States. But an internal Customs and Border Protection analysis reported in April said the overwhelming increase in migration is "largely attributable to perceptions of U.S. immigration policy changes, economic opportunities, elevated violence and reduced COVID-19 travel restrictions."
Since assuming office, Biden has sought to undo his predecessor's strict immigration policies. The Trump administration attempted to crack down on illegal immigration by ending policies like "catch and release," requiring migrants to remain in U.S. custody until their court dates. Biden reversed that policy, and others — including canceling construction of a wall on the southern border — in an attempt to appear more compassionate toward the plight of migrants.
But critics say Biden's lax immigration policies have incentivized illegal immigration, exacerbating problems related to drugs, human trafficking, and violence that stem from criminal elements taking advantage of people traveling to the United States.
"There is a complete breakdown on the border. This is the result of not implementing common-sense solutions or implementing them too late," said former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf. "This is much worse than catch and release."
(2) Here's the ugly truth - if they were true asylum seekers, they would want to go to court. Because a valid clai… https://t.co/ZL90D8Vm9g
— Chad Wolf (@ChadFWolf) 1627418080.0
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