January witnessed a decrease in migrant encounters along the Texas border, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealing a substantial reduction from previous months.
Abbott’s Approach
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has led Texas to the forefront of the U.S.-Mexico border conflict over the past year and a half, responding to apparent inaction by the Biden administration and federal government.
Installing Barriers
These efforts have involved lawsuits and federal court battles, including debates over the use of razor wire in heavily trafficked zones like Shelby Park in Eagle Pass and the implementation of floating barriers in the Rio Grande.
Drop Recorded
According to CBP statistics, crossings on the southwest land border in Texas amounted to 68,260 in January, marking a decrease from the 149,806 migrants who attempted entry into the country through the state in December.
Previous Encounters
Encounters in Texas totaled 119,628 and 111,129 in October and November, respectively.
Robust Border Defense
Governor Abbott asserts that the effectiveness of Texas’ robust border defense strategies led to decreased migrant crossings.
Educating Cartels
The governor wrote on x. “Migrant crossings fall sharply along Texas border, shifting to Arizona and California. Our stiff resistance is educating cartels not to mess with Texas. Texas will continue erecting more barriers & target more arrests to better secure the border.”
Nationwide Numbers
According to CBP’s data, there were 242,587 migrant encounters across the United States’ northern and southern borders overall in January, representing a substantial decline from the 370,925 encounters documented in December.
Sharp Drop
This figure also indicates a decrease of over 65,000 compared with October 309,065 and November 308,636.
Record Encounters
The 2023 fiscal year witnessed over 2.4 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, reflecting an increase from approximately 1.7 million encounters in 2021
Legal Battles
Despite encountering legal setbacks, such as the conservative Supreme Court’s decision allowing federal Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire along the U.S.-Mexico border, Abbott remains committed to allocating resources to reduce migrant encounters in Texas.
Monitoring Border
This includes deploying additional wire and National Guard troops to monitor the border area.
Federal Jurisdiction
These actions have sparked a direct confrontation with the federal government, which accuses Texas of interfering in federal jurisdiction.
Curbing Unauthorized Crossings
Governor Abbott, however, asserts that constitutional provisions empower him to bypass federal directives in order to curb unauthorized border crossings.
Trump Support Texas
In support of this stance, former President Donald Trump has called on states to deploy additional National Guard forces to assist Texas. This call has garnered the support of 25 Republican governors.
Solidarity With Abbott
The statement released by the Republican Governor’s Association last month read, “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas in utilizing every tool and strategy, including razor wire fences, to secure the border.”
Enforcing Immigration Laws
It added, “We do it in part because the Biden Administration is refusing to enforce immigration laws already on the books and is illegally allowing mass parole across America of migrants who entered our country illegally.”
Protect the Sovereignty
“Because the Biden Administration has abdicated its constitutional compact duties to the states, Texas has every legal justification to protect the sovereignty of our states and our nation,” the statement concluded.
Rising Popularity
A YouGov poll indicates that Abbott’s popularity among Texas residents statewide has risen to match that of Donald Trump. This is likely attributed, at least in part, to his handling of the immigration issue.
Immigration Bill Failure
The decrease in border crossings Follows the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass a $118 billion bill aimed at addressing issues such as asylum, emergency powers to deter large numbers of migrants, and providing billions in foreign aid.
Foreign Aid Bill
However, on Tuesday, the Senate approved a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan with a vote of 70-29—a move that faced criticism from House Speaker Mike Johnson before Monday’s procedural vote, citing perceived inaction on immigration.
Wall Construction
The unsuccessful Senate immigration package also allocated funds for an unspecified portion of a border wall, a key component of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
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