Global Courant 2023-05-15 05:48:41
President Biden was asked on Sunday to review the state of the US-Mexico border following the expiration of Title 42 of the pandemic policy last week.
“Much better than you all expected,” Biden said when asked by reporters during a bike ride near his vacation home in Rehoboth, Delaware.
WASHINGTON, DC May 9, 2023: U.S. President Joe Biden. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The president said he had no immediate plans to visit the border because it would, he argued, “only be disruptive”.
Biden’s comments come after US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said border patrol agents have seen a 50% drop in the number of migrants crossing the border since Thursday.
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“The numbers we’ve seen over the last two days are significantly lower than they were before the end of Title 42,” Mayorkas said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. He said there were 6,300 border encounters on Friday and 4,200 on Saturday, but warned it was still early in the new regime.
Mayorkas attributed the criminal sanctions to migrants entering the country illegally, which resumed under existing law after the expiration of Title 42, for the decrease in crossings. The COVID-era rule passed under former President Donald Trump allowed officials to quickly deport migrants without an asylum procedure, but did not impose sanctions.
A U.S. Border Patrol (R) agent addresses immigrants before they are transported from a makeshift camp between border walls, between the U.S. and Mexico, in San Diego, California, on May 13, 2023. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Biden told reporters on Sunday he hoped the border crossing would continue to decline, but warned there was more work to be done and help was needed from Congress.
The Biden administration’s post-Title 42 plan requires migrants to schedule an immigration appointment through an app or seek protection from countries they passed through on their way to the US border. If they do not follow the process and are caught entering the US illegally, they will not be allowed to try again for five years, even by legal means. Prison sentences apply for other violations.
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Officials from communities along the border agreed that they had not seen the large numbers of migrants that many feared would further strain US border facilities and cities.
“The number of migrants that we initially expected – the big flow – is not there yet,” Victor Trevino, mayor of Laredo, Texas, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
Despite the Biden administration’s assurances, multiple communities have strained their resources in recent weeks to deal with the influx of migrants.
Last week, outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a declaration of emergency in response to illegal migrants sent to her city by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
An influx of migrants has also sparked chaos in New York City, from where Mayor Eric Adams has battled with counties across the state to send busloads of asylum seekers to temporary housing, sparking contentious legal battles.
The Texas Department of Public also said on Saturday it was temporarily ending cooperation with the Austin Police Department.
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon told FOX 7 Austin that because Texas DPS is deployed to border towns, their operations would be temporarily suspended in Austin. Texas DPS works with Austin authorities to investigate violent crime and drug crimes.
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The need to secure the border was also highlighted by San Diego’s confirmation of a terror-listed Afghan arrested at the US-Mexico border after attempting to cross the border.
Fox News’ Andrea Vacchiano and Reuters contributed to this report.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues and much more.
