This battle escalated to what it is today and contributed to the sharp decline in migrant crossings along the southern border.
According to the Border Patrol data for January, there has been a substantial drop in overall illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border, with only 125,000 migrant crossings recorded compared to nearly 250,000 in December. The 1,254-mile Texas border, the largest of any state bordering Mexico; the Del Rio sector, which was the second-busiest in December; and Eagle Pass, a Texas border city in the Del Rio sector, all witnessed a sharp decline in migrant crossings.
However, the geographical trends of these migration flows have undergone a dramatic transformation.
The Tucson border in Arizona and the San Diego sector in California have emerged as the busiest regions for Border Patrol in recent weeks. Remote desert areas like Lukeville, Arizona and Jacumba Hot Springs, California, have seen more than 1,000 migrants entering the U.S. illegally each day, exploiting gaps in the border wall or holes cut by smugglers. Tucson Border Patrol data for the week ending on Feb. 4 reveals that the Tucson sector and the San Diego sector collectively accounted for 59 percent of the 5,128 daily crossings.
To make things worse, Tucson Border Patrol said there were 13,800 suspected illegal migrants detained in the final week of January, a significant increase from the 5,900 recorded during the same period in 2023. Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin disclosed additional alarming statistics, including 189 crossings leading to federal criminal cases, 27 categorized as “human smuggling events,” and the seizure of 1.5 lbs of lethal fentanyl – enough to potentially cause harm to over 680,000 people.
Biden admin downplays Abbott’s role in decline of illegal crossings via Texas
The Biden administration said the decrease in illegal border crossings are due to seasonal trends, shifts in smuggling strategies and the Mexican government’s efforts to curb illegal crossings.
Valeria Wheeler, the director of Mission Border Hope migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, a Mexican city adjacent to Eagle Pass, said she noticed a significant decrease in the number of migrants received from Border Patrol at the beginning of 2024, even before Texas took control of Shelby Park in mid-January. In December, her shelter was getting up to 1,200 migrants daily, but now she says Border Patrol only drops off a few dozen migrants each day.
“The Mexican government has made it very difficult for migrants to come to the border in this area,” said Wheeler.
But those comments didn’t deter Abbott from relishing the victory during a gathering of Republican governors at Eagle Pass Park on Feb. 11. “The cartels have rerouted their routes to cross the border because Texas is the only state that’s putting up any resistance. Despite the fact that Texas represents more than 60 percent of the land miles of the border, the overwhelming majority now of people crossing the border are crossing in Arizona and California, two states that are putting up no resistance to illegal immigration,” he said.
In November 2023, Abbott stepped up border security efforts under Operation Lone Star, the state’s immigration enforcement plan to address the border crisis. This initiative resulted in nearly a 50 percent decrease in illegal immigrant crossings from December to January.
Moreover, Abbott has deployed Texas National Guard soldiers along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass covering a 2.5-mile section of the southern border with razor wire, shipping containers and other barriers in the area.
Check out OpenBorders.news for more stories about illegal migrants.
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