On a quiet Friday afternoon heading into the Christmas weekend, the Biden administration dropped some data on the border crisis that should raise some alarms with regard to the potential end to Title 42.
According to the data, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a new record number of migrant border crossings last month compared to any other previous November on record. It’s not hard to figure out what’s driving the trend as the Biden administration continues a drive to kill any policy that might strengthen the southern border between the United States and Mexico and make it less advantageous for migrants to attempt entering the country.
As ABC News notes, the quiet timing of the release heading into a holiday weekend was likely a clear attempt to bury the news and sweep the issue under the rug:
There were 233,740 migrants apprehended along the U.S. southern border in November, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection- a 1% increase from October’s record – breaking apprehensions and marked the highest ever number of border crossings ever recorded for the month of November.
CBP says there were 204,000 unique encounters that is up from 4% the month before. Of those unique encounters, 35% (68,000) were from Cuba and Nicaragua. The number of unique encounters alone is nearly two times the total number of encounters from the previous year at 174,845.
Two thirds of all encounters were single adult men who are often repatriated under the Title 8 statue while only 29% were repatriated under Title 42.
Title 42, the Trump era policy which expelled migrants under the auspices of the pandemic, is halted until the Supreme Court hears arguments on the case.
The timing of the release of the November border numbers, on the Friday before Christmas, irked some Republicans who have been critical of the way the Biden administration has handled the issue of immigration.
Of course, with the flow of migrants, the flow of other activities like human trafficking and drugs has also seen a sharp increase:
Fentanyl and heroin seizures, according to the data, both increased more than 50% according to CBP from the previous month.
The fentanyl crisis seems to be a non-issue for this administration and, quite frankly, for the Washington establishment. Just days ago, Sen. Mitch McConnell was praising a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that sent another $45 billion to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, out of $1.7 trillion, Congress was able to cobble together $4 million for each state, plus the District of Columbia, to strengthen their federal drug treatment programs. A few billion spent on border security would start putting a dent in the flow of migrants and drugs heading into the country. Still, that issue remains a very low priority for most politicians inside the beltway.
Meanwhile, with a record number of border crossings happening in winter months, many fear that the springtime surge, which seems to be an annual trend, could be far, far higher next year as border policies become weaker.
Just a few weeks back, Biden was directly questioned on the border crisis but said, quite plainly, it’s a non-issue and there are more important things to worry about:
Biden made the defense while boarding Marine One to depart the White House on Tuesday. Biden has never visited the border throughout his presidency, despite the ongoing crisis with record numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border each month.
“Why go to a border state and not visit the border?” Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked.
“Because there are more important things going on,” Biden responded. “They’re going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise.”
The states and localities most directly impacted by the ongoing flood of human trafficking and drugs would likely argue that security and safety are top issues.
Even many border-district Democrats agree. Just a week ago, Rep. Henry Cueller, a Democrat from Texas, blasted the Biden administration for dereliction on the issue and for diminishing the border patrol’s morale:
This came up Sunday, when Margaret Brennan of CBS’ Face the Nation asked U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, this question: “You represent a lot of border patrol agents. Are they prepared? How is morale?”
Cuellar responded, “Well, first of all, morale is not good, because they feel that the administration doesn’t have their backs. Number one, number two, are they prepared? No, even the $3 billion that you mentioned a while ago, that money is — is going to be used for processing, is going to be used for food and shelter and transportation and migrants. It doesn’t address the issue that we’re facing at the border. You know, there’s thousands of people are coming in.”
All-in-all, this is another issue that has festered since the beginning of Biden’s presidency and has only gotten worse. Each time things reach a boiling point, the administration is able to sweep it aside and keep pressing forward with loosening restrictions and making it harder to expel migrants crossing the border illegally.
Once again, the demonstrable disconnect between the average American and the political class is laid bare.
