Vicky Arias, FISM News
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Counties across Texas, 29 in total, have declared the crisis at our southern border to be an invasion.
An unprecedented influx of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border is overwhelming Texas, leaving the state in a desperate situation. More than two dozen Texas counties have signed resolutions “calling for ‘additional measures to secure the border, stop the invasion at the border, and protect communities.’”
According to Reuters, “U.S. border agents have made a record 1.8 million migrant arrests so far in fiscal year 2022 … creating humanitarian challenges and political liabilities for [President Joe] Biden ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election.”
The number of arrests in 2022 is more than double that of each of the previous four years.
The Biden administration is facing heavy criticism for its mishandling of immigration policies as health and humanitarian crises are on the rise in Texas border communities and for the migrants themselves. The Department of Homeland Security announced “the highest number of Southwest Border encounters in 20 years” as of its 2021 report.
High rates of migrant arrests come as drug smuggling is becoming routine at the southern border, with millions of dollars worth of narcotics and cocaine seized there in recent months, and untold amounts making it into the country.
Human trafficking is also a major issue. As reported by Voice of America, on September 13, “the arrest of eight alleged human smugglers [was announced] … [as] law enforcement officials said the network ran a ‘prolific’ smuggling operation, trafficking hundreds, if not thousands, of undocumented migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia into the United States in recent years.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has taken steps toward mitigating the crisis by providing funding for border security and signing laws that deter criminal activities like human trafficking and smuggling. Abbott has also begun construction of a border wall.
Additionally, in light of the extenuating strain on border communities, Gov. Abbott made the decision to start busing migrants out of Texas and into Washington D.C., New York City, and Chicago.
According to a press release for Gov. Abbott, “since beginning [the] busing strategy in the spring, over 10,000 migrants have been transported to these sanctuary cities while providing much-needed relief to Texas’ overwhelmed border communities.”
As previously reported by FISM News, mayors of these cities are not happy with migrants being bused into their neighborhoods. Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington D.C., called the move “cruel” and requested the National Guard be dispatched to help her town — a request that the Biden administration denied.
Additionally, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot have been called out as hypocrites for busing migrants arriving in the city to neighboring suburbs, after touting themselves as welcoming to immigrants. Chicago officials have bused migrants to Elk Grove Village and Burr Ridge with little to no prior warning to those cities’ mayors.
Renae Eze, Gov. Abbott’s press secretary, explained to Fox News Digital:
Democrat elites are absolute hypocrites, and now their hypocrisy is on full display for the entire nation. Governor Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot have been complaining about a few hundred migrants being bused into self-declared sanctuary city Chicago, then turn around and dump them in the suburbs for Republican mayors to deal with. Instead of complaining about fulfilling their ‘welcoming city’ promises, these Democrat hypocrites should call on President Biden to do his job and secure the border — something the President continues failing to do.