Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they were overwhelmed on the southern border with an estimated 100,441 illegal immigrants confronted in February, a 28% increase from January.
By their records, in January, 19,246 were families, 9,457 were unaccompanied under-age children, and 71,598 were adults.
Troy Miller, the acting CBP Commissioner, said, “The border is not open – do not believe human smugglers who tell you otherwise.”
Miller also noted a 360% increase in drug seizures in comparison to last year at the same time.
When White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, was asked about the situation on Thursday, during a press brief, she said the majority of those seeking entry were turned away due to the Title 42 health protections enacted by former President Trump.
She continued to say, “We certainly also recognize because the president and our administration has made a decision that the way to humanely approach immigration is to allow for unaccompanied children to come and be treated with humanity and be in a safe place while we’re… trying to get them into homes and sponsors homes that some more may be coming to our border.”
Psaki also denied Texas Governor Abbott’s claims that under Biden’s policies, the borders are open.
The infamous “kids in cages” argument used against Trump throughout his term hasn’t come up again to public outcry as the same chain-link holding centers are being used until the children can be sent to a shelter.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 8,500 immigrant children are in these holding centers with 3,500 more waiting in Border Patrol stations as there aren’t enough beds.
In these holding facilities, children may be held (legally) for a 72 hour period until they’re provided with shelter by the HHS. The current average time they’re held for, according to the Washington Post, is 107 hours.
CBP told Fox News on Saturday that they’re overwhelmed in the Rio Grande Valley sector and confront an estimated 1,500 immigrants a day.
An anonymous source sent them the photos (seen below) of their current situation.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, said the situation was a challenge after admitting the CBP is swamped.
She also said, “We are not saying, ‘Don’t come.’ We are saying, ‘Don’t come now because we will be able to deliver a safe and orderly process to them as quickly as possible.'”
