US Border Patrol agents made more than 50,000 arrests in one week – recovering more than 1,400 pounds of drugs.
Chief Raul Ortiz shared images of the latest arrests on his Twitter page, exposing the ongoing crisis at the borders.
On Friday he said: “Week in review. 1 cop assaulted, 51,560 arrests, 16,985 escapes, $31,000 seized, 614 pounds of cocaine, 540 pounds of marijuana, 246 pounds of meth, 54 pounds of fentanyl, 19 pounds of heroin, 10 firearms, 17 sex offenders, 5 gang members. Impressive work!’
Images attached by the chief show large amounts of drugs bundled up, as well as stacks of dollar bills.
According to the Chief, these stats are for the entire Border Patrol, including the Southern, Northern, and Coastal borders.
Migrants marched along the side of a highway in Alvaro Obregón, Chiapas, last month
Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez, who commands agents along the Gulf of Mexico and border along the Rio Grande, also shared an update on their efforts over the weekend.
Agent Chavez said on Twitter that they had handled 6,371 encounters, 10 smuggling cases, arrested 11 principals, one sex offender and two gang members, as well as one water rescue and recovered 60 pounds of cocaine.
She also said an officer was attacked over the weekend.
Statistics published by the US Customs and Border Protection show that there were 257,910 nationwide encounters across all borders in March of this year.
The March numbers brought the total number of encounters in the US this year to 1,544,087.
Current trends mean that the total number of crossings could break last year’s record of 2.76 million.
It comes after the Biden administration said they would set up migrant processing centers in Central and South America in a bid to expedite deportations and further deter illegal immigration to the US.
The first centers will be located in Colombia and Guatemala, two countries that have developed major bottlenecks for those trying to transit to migrate to the US
One of the loot of drugs recovered by Border Patrol in the last week of April
The border patrols are constantly taking pictures of what they managed to avoid crossing the border and taking to the streets
Piles of cash were also picked up by Border Patrol agents pouring into the US over the past week
Sex offenders entering the US have also been arrested, including these two that were shared by Border Patrol
A range of weapons were also seized from illegal migrants streaming into the US, including these containing ammunition
President Biden has also authorized Army reserves to move to the southern border as Pandemic-era Title 42 expires in two weeks.
Title 42 allowed for the expedited expulsion of migrants from the US during the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of March 2020, officials have been able to use this policy in more than 2.7 million cases when processing asylum applications from migrants.
But now that there is no longer a health emergency in the US, the policy expires on May 11.
Republicans and border policy hawks have been highly critical of the end of the program, claiming there is no alternative to ensuring the southern border is not crossed and even more overwhelmed once Title 42 expires.
Internal projections show that migration at the southern border could increase by as much as 10,000 to 13,000 a day when the policy expires next month.
Another method of deterring unlawful crossings after the end of Title 42 is that the Biden administration is working to finalize a rule to disqualify migrants from asylum if they did not seek humanitarian protection in a country they had to cross to reach the reach the US and then entered the country illegally.
Currently, migrants who illegally cross the southern border to apply for asylum are often released into the country pending a decision on their asylum application.
Chief Raul Ortiz shared an update on his Twitter page revealing how despite arresting more than 51,560 people, just under 17,000 still managed to escape
Pictured: The latest figures from US Customs and Border Protection show that more than 250,000 people crossed the border in March
This has led to millions without legal status disappearing into the country upon release from customs and border guard custody.
The government also announced it would expand a program that would allow migrants to come to the US if they have family members who are citizens or permanent residents.
While the current policy only applies to Haitian and Cuban migrants, the expanded version would also allow citizens of Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to participate in the family reunification program.
Last month, 3,000 immigrants began moving through Mexico as a large group to head for the southern border of the US.
Migrants continue to wait at the US border with Mexico in January this year.
The Texas National Guard stands guard as migrants continue to wait at the US-Mexico border in January this year
The caravan of asylum seekers had threatened to block roads or injure themselves unless the Mexican government agreed to meetings or provided buses that would transport them to the capital.
They hoped to reach Mexico City, where they planned to pressure officials to issue them exit visas that would allow them to proceed to the United States.
In February of this year, Border Patrol agents testified before a government commission that the amount of fentanyl seized at the southern border was enough to kill nearly five times the US population.