US: Border Crossings Drop After Title 42 End

Facts

• Chief Operating Officer at US Customs and Border Protection Blas Nuñez-Neto said Wednesday that migrant crossings remain at a 56% decrease since last week’s end of Title 42, the pandemic-era public health policy, with border encounters now averaging 4K per day compared to 10K.¹
• According to Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arrests at the border were also down from 10K per day early last week to 6.3K on Friday and 4.2K on Saturday — contrary to the government’s anticipated spike in border crossings following the end of Title 42.²
• Although Mayorkas stressed that it’s "still early," he said the number of migrants has stayed relatively low because of a "vitally important message" the Biden admin. issued to encourage people to seek legal entry into the US and a threat of harsher punishments under Title 8 for those caught making illegal entries.³
• Nuñez-Neto also credited Mexico and Guatemala for toughening enforcement of their southern borders with a military presence and Panama and Colombia for breaking up some smuggling networks that contribute to illegal immigration.⁴
• Despite the decrease, the US has reportedly returned 2.4K people to Mexico, including those from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and thousands have been deported to 10 other countries, including Colombia, Honduras, and Peru, since the policy's expiration.⁵

Sources: ¹The Hill, ²PBS NewsHour, ³Daily Wire, ⁴Reuters, and ⁵Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. While it may not be here yet, the migrant surge is coming, and the Biden admin. is nowhere near ready. There’s going to be an increase in violent crime and more deadly fentanyl entering the country, as Democrats are too woke to stop these people at the border or enforce the law once they get in. House Republicans are scrambling to protect the nation, but Democrats want open borders and amnesty for criminals.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. Republicans have been sounding the alarm for years about the so-called dangers of ending Title 42, but it now appears they were crying wolf because there hasn’t been a rush across the border and the administration has everything under control. Instead of hysterics, the House Republicans should offer up a bill that provides support to border security without being cruel to non-citizens.