A report claims that over 1 million migrants illegally crossed into the five Texas-based sectors and were arrested by Border Patrol agents ever since President Joe Biden’s Inauguration.
This is more than 100,000 migrant apprehensions per month and a nearly 375 percent increase over the same period in 2020.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, during the same 10-month period one year earlier, agents apprehended only 221,232 migrants in the same sectors. And these are only the official numbers, as they don’t include the hundreds of thousands of migrant “got-aways.”
Earlier this year, Governor Greg Abbott began Operation Lone Star, but as the Texas border continued to be in a state of disaster due to the migrant surge, the Governor announced the State of Texas would build its own border wall and begin arresting migrants on state crimes they commit after crossing the border.
“The influx across the border is out of control, and the Biden Administration has shown that is not going to step up and do its job. And amidst reports of even more people coming in across the border, we know we have to step up and do more,” Abbott said.
An additional $1.8 billion in state funds for border security was provided by the Texas Legislature which passed House Bill 9, including the funds to construct the State’s border wall project.
An exact 55 percent of migrants in the Texas-based border sectors during the Biden-era, took place in the nation’s busiest border sector, the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
“The State of Texas has taken comprehensive action to secure our southern border and address the border crisis while President Biden has sat idly by. In June, I promised Texans that we would step up in the federal government’s absence and build our own border wall,” Abbott said in a border wall unveiling ceremony.
“We have wasted no time in the six months since that promise was made, and I am proud to announce that construction of the Texas border wall is now underway. Today not only represents the first phase of the Texas border wall, but it also serves as a major milestone in our efforts to combat illegal immigration, stop the smuggling of drugs and people, and keep our communities safe,” the Texas governor added.