Since entering the White House in January, the Biden administration has been dealing with a continuing crisis at the Southern border. There are few signs that it is easing down, with the number of migrants and seizures of the deadly narcotic fentanyl both on the rise.
In May, there were more than 180,000 migrant interactions. This is up from far more than 178,000 in April and substantially higher than that of the 78,000 in January; although, the numbers have been steadily climbing since April of last year.
The 180,034 interactions in May are significantly greater than the 23,237 recorded last year; they also even higher than the 144,166 recorded in May 2019 during the height of that year’s immigration crisis.
Does Ms Pelosi truly believe human trafficking and fentenol trafficking via the Southern border are not happening? I wish she would accompany that with statistics.
— Heather Impola (@ImpolaHeather) February 28, 2019
Because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Biden administration observed that 112,302 largely single adults were expelled via Title 42 public health limitations; this suggests that the majority of refugees making multiple attempts to enter the United States may have grown.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, on the other hand, left open the prospect of lifting Title 42 restrictions once the pandemic threat has passed — and is under fire from the Democratic Party’s left-wing to do just that.
The Problem of Child Migrants
However, photographs of child migrants – from whom the Biden administration is refusing to remove under Title 42 – being dropped at the border by smugglers and left to fend for themselves have continued to surface.
What about the 10,000 children being used in sex trafficking that come across our southern border? Or more than 95% of heroin and fentenol that comes across our southern border? Who says that what I posted is propaganda, other than you and a few. What about the tons of cocain?
— ed pinter (@edpinter2) January 6, 2019
Consequently, drug arrests increased by 18% in May compared to April 2021. While the aggregate figure is lower than May 2020 and a number of other months, in both FY 2020 and 2021, seizures of the deadly opioid fentanyl are far higher; they are up more than 300 percent from May last year.
Seizures of the lethal substance have increased by 56 percent in FY 2021 compared to the same period in FY 2020, according to CPB.
How Dangerous is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is an opioid used to alleviate pain and 50 to 100 times more effective than heroin. According to the CDC, more than 36,000 people died in 2019 from overdoses using synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
As more refugees arrive at the border, more are left stranded in the wilderness, which is becoming increasingly hot. Agents have come across U-Hauls crammed with immigrants in temperatures well above 100 degrees.
Meanwhile, CBP conducted 7,084 border rescues across the country in FY 2021, rescuing 35 percent more people than it did in FY 2020.
95% of Fentenol comes across the southern border. Mexican drug cartels have nothing to do with drugs in this country? Mexico’s number one export is narcotics? What the hell are you talking about. We need a wall protected by our military and we should actually send the military…
— R (@BABATUNDE_11) February 21, 2019
In the meantime, Border Patrol agents have continued to detain gang members, sex offenders, and other dangerous undocumented immigrants at the Mexican border. When compared to the same period previous fiscal year, Border Patrol agents in Texas’ Del Rio Sector have observed a 3,166 percent spike in arrests of convicted sex offenders.
The amount of child migrants coming across the border (which fell from historic levels in March to around 10,000 in May) is one piece of data that implies the government is easing up.
Officials have also noted a decrease in children in Border Patrol custody, with 16,000 migrant children currently in Health and Human Services (HHS) custody; this is down from 22,000 last month – though this is due to the children being reunited with sponsors across the country, rather than not being removed.
Republicans have reacted angrily to this decision.
