The number of people crossing the border slowed down this summer, but it’s back up again now.
Illegal crossings of the U.S.-Mexico border are on the rise this month, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeing a lot more people each day than they did in the summer.
NBC News said that CBP data showed that border agents met more than 7,500 refugees just on Sunday. Of those, 1,800 were in Rio Grande Valley, Texas; 1,600 were in Del Rio, Texas; 1,500 were in Tucson, Arizona; and more than 1,000 were in El Paso, Texas.
After a slow period over the summer, the number of people crossing the border has gone up every week since September. However, the number of people crossing is still less than the record of 10,000 per day set in May. The government of President Biden had said that the lower numbers during the summer showed that its tactics at the border were working.
Fox News got drone footage of more than 2,200 people crossing the border early Monday morning near Eagle Pass, Texas.
“We stay on guard and expect changes, knowing that smugglers will keep using false information to take advantage of weak people,” CBP told the outlet. “CBP is working according to plan and as part of our standard procedures to quickly decongest the areas along the southwest border and to safely and efficiently screen and process migrants so they can be put through immigration enforcement proceedings that follow our laws.”
In July, an average of 4,300 people crossed each day. On Sunday, there were 7,500.
On Monday, the CBP’s El Paso Office of Field Operations stopped handling goods at the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) port of entry for the time being. The agency did not say when it would go back to normal operations. Instead, it said it would do so “as soon as possible.”
CBP said, “The temporary suspension at BOTA will allow CBP’s Office of Field Operations officers to help the U.S. Border Patrol process noncitizens who arrived between the ports of entry, including vulnerable groups like families and children who came alone.” “CBP regularly plans for and carries out contingency measures like this one to support the agency’s overall mission and make sure that people in its care are safe and healthy.”