Facing a new surge of illegal immigration, and particularly minors, at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration said Tuesday it’s had to open a new tent facility in Texas to handle the increases, reports the Washington Times.
The new Customs and Border Protection facility is going up near the southern tip of Texas, where it’s going to be available for use by several Border Patrol stations.
The previous administration had opened a similar tent center in the area in 2019 but closed it in 2020 as illegal crossings dropped after a number of policy changes cut the incentives for migrants to make the journey. Illegal crossings began to climb at the end of last year, and have soared in 2021.
One former official said CBP, the border agency within Homeland Security, is now encountering 300 Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) a day — one of the fastest rates ever, according to the Washington Times.
All told, perhaps 4,500 people a day are trying to jump the border, the official said. CBP blamed factors in Latin America:
Since April 2020, CBP has seen a steady increase in border encounters from the Western Hemisphere due to worsening economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters impacting the area.
Despite how quickly the past administration spurred national outrage by implementing the same facilities, immigrant-rights groups signaled Tuesday they are taking a wait-and-see approach on how the Biden team handles the surge.
For the complete article, please visit the Washington Times.
