Massive group of migrants hit Texas border as end of Title 42 looms

A massive group of hundreds of illegal immigrants hit only part of the southern border early Saturday, as officers deal with tens of thousands of illegal crossings each month – and the end of Title 42 authorities to expel the migrants is only a few weeks away.

Fox News drone cameras showed the group of several hundred migrants crossing and surrendering to Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas on Saturday morning.

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source told Fox News that there have been more than 72,000 illegal crossings through the Del Rio area, where Eagle Pass is located, since early October when the fiscal year 2022 has begun. There have been more than 1,400 illegal crossings in the past 24 hours alone.

The southern border has been hit by a massive increase in illegal crossings since the start of 2021. There were over 1.7 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2021 and that number rose to over 2, 3 million in the last fiscal year.

MAYORKAS KEEPS DHS HAS PLAN FOR END OF TITLE 42 DESPITE FEAR OF NEW WAVE OF MIGRANTS AT SOUTHERN BORDER

This week, Customs and Border Protection announced that there were more than 230,000 encounters in October, up from more than 164,000 last October. The Biden administration has declared the border ‘secure’ and ‘closed’ and has emphasized a response based on opening legal avenues of asylum, targeting smugglers and addressing ‘root causes’. “like poverty, violence and climate change.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told lawmakers this week that the crisis is not limited to the US border.

“The entire hemisphere is suffering from a migration crisis. We are seeing an unprecedented movement of people from one country to another. It is not limited to the southern border,” Mayorkas said during a hearing at the Senate.

Republicans, meanwhile, blamed the Biden administration for its border policies, including the end of Trump-era border security systems and the tightening of domestic enforcement – ​​which they say encouraged the migrants to make the journey north. Some border states have taken matters into their own hands. Texas Governor Greg Abbott this week declared an “invasion” at the border, a move he says gives Texas law enforcement the ability to turn back illegal immigrants.

FEDERAL COURT DELAYS END OF TITLE 42 BORDER POLICY UNTIL DECEMBER AMID FEARS OF MIGRANT OVERFLY

The new migrant groups come days after a federal judge ruled that using Title 42 to deport migrants was illegal and ordered the government to end use of the public health order – update first implemented in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Biden administration requested, and was granted, a five-week extension to implement its plan for a post-Title 42 border situation. The Trump-era order was used to deport a majority of migrants at the border and the Biden administration expanded its use last month to include Venezuelan nationals.

Border Patrol sources told Fox News they fear the end of deportations could lead to a new wave of migrants trying to enter the United States, believing they are now less likely to be deported.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But DHS said its plan includes greater use of other deportation authorities such as expedited deportation and warned potential migrants they would not be allowed entry.

“People should not listen to the lies of smugglers who will take advantage of vulnerable migrants, putting lives at risk. The border is closed and we will continue to fully enforce our immigration laws at the border,” DHS said in a statement. communicated.