Customs and Border Protection encountered roughly 100,000 migrants attempting to traverse the southern border in February, and agents noted a sharp uptick in drug seizures as the Biden administration faces the prospect of an immigration crisis.
CBP personnel observed 100,441 people attempting to cross into the United States after the government body reported 78,000 who tried to do the same in January 2021, an increase of 29%. The agency expelled 72,113 migrants last month, and drug seizures were up 50%, with heroin acquisitions rising 48% and methamphetamine confiscations up 40%.
Border officials reported a 13% decline in cocaine seizures and a 17% drop in fentanyl acquisitions, although the agency noted that fentanyl’s annual totals are up over 360% from last year. Since April 2020, CBP has faced a surge in unaccompanied migrant children, and in fiscal year 2021, authorities detained 29,792 children, of whom 2,942 were under the age of 12.
“The United States is continuing to strictly enforce our existing immigration laws and border security measures,” said CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner Troy Miller. “Those who attempt to cross the border without going through ports of entry should understand that they are putting themselves and their families in danger, especially during the pandemic. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the border is not open, and the vast majority of people are being returned under Title 42. Do not believe smugglers or others claiming otherwise.”
The Biden administration has recently come under fire for the crisis at the southern border as officials anticipate that 117,000 children will arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian in 2021, according to a White House Domestic Policy Council document. The massive number dwarfs previous highs in 2014 and 2019, when 68,000 and 80,000 solo children made their way into the U.S., respectively.
More than 3,200 children have been moved to holding facilities, which are designed to house adults, under the watch of CBP. Of the sum, 1,400 have remained in custody past the 72-hour limit in small concrete rooms without beds, dubbed “hieleras,” or iceboxes.
Mexican officials have also warned that Biden’s policies since he took office, which have included directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport only those who are “threats to national security,” have incentivized gangs and other criminal elements. An official, who was not identified by name, further added that illegal groups have begun to diversify “from the day Biden took office,” and they’re now reaching “unprecedented” levels of sophistication.
The administration’s immigration initiatives have drawn lawsuits from top brass in Florida, Arizona, and Montana this week. On Tuesday, the Sunshine State sued Biden and his cohort after alleging “serious criminals” were not being detained by ICE authorities, including drug traffickers and serial burglars.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas likened the activity at the border to a “challenge” rather than a crisis, drawing a Wednesday rebuke from border-state Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona.
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“Given your recent plea for volunteers from throughout the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support Customs and Border Protection’s work at the border, I request that you publicly declare that the situation at the southern border is a crisis,” Biggs, a Republican, said in a letter.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner at the time of publishing.
