A new record number of migrants have crossed the border since October, according to a new report Wednesday, as Republican chaos destroyed a deal on border security and ended an effort to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has tracked more than 1 million encounters with migrants since the start of fiscal year 2024, a CBP source said Fox newsthe earliest point ever reached.
The number is up about 100,000 from the same period last year and is the earliest the US has ever reached the 1 million encounter mark.
Meanwhile, a long-negotiated $118 billion package of border enforcement measures collapsed this week after Republicans rejected it amid infighting. And Republicans in the House of Representatives failed spectacularly in their attempt to impeach Mayorkas.
Republicans’ attempts to use the border against President Joe Biden are quickly turning into a farce, and the president is looking to engage the GOP on an issue that has dogged his administration since day one.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has tracked more than 1 million migrant encounters since October — above the Ciudad Juarez border crossing
Biden on Tuesday accused Republicans in Congress of “caving” to Donald Trump on the issue and urged them to “show some backbone” by backing a border security deal.
He accused Trump, his most likely rival in 2024, of spending his time pressuring Republicans to oppose the deal, which would be subject to a filibuster in the Senate. The former president has described the deal in harsh political terms, calling it a “death wish” for the Republican Party.
The chaos among Republicans comes as the US tracks a greater number of Chinese migrants crossing the border. Chinese migrants were the fastest-growing group of border violators last year, and fiscal year 2024 is on track to break that record.
CBP encountered more than 37,000 Chinese migrants last year, but nearly 20,000 since October. CBP told Fox News that they have encountered about 150 Chinese migrants per day this fiscal year.
Security at the southern border has become a political hot potato and threatens to become a major issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.
Biden vowed to raise the issue — campaigning on an issue that was a political weakness — and accused Republicans of backtracking on their long-stated demands to gain control of the border.
“Republicans must decide: Who do they serve? Donald Trump, or the American people?’ Biden asked. ‘I know my answer. I serve the American people. I’m here to solve problems.’
Migrants cross the border into the US through Gate 36
Migrants are crossing the border, while the number of border crossings continues to increase
The Senate bill — which includes $20 billion for border measures — would require the border to close if there are 5,000 encounters over the course of a week or 8,500 migrants in one day.
But many Republicans said it didn’t go far enough, demanding the immediate reinstatement of pandemic-era Title 42, “Remain in Mexico” policies and border wall construction.
The $118 billion deal, backed by the White House, included $14 billion in aid to Israel, $60 billion to Ukraine as well as $20 billion to secure the southern border amid a massive increase in illegal migration.
Shortly after it was released, many Republicans immediately rejected it, making it a victim of election year politics.
House Speaker Mike Johnson deemed it “dead on arrival” and at least 22 Republicans in the Senate were expected to vote against the massive bill.
“It’s been made pretty clear to us by the speaker that this is not going to become law,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. “It seems to me, and most of our members, that we have no real chance of making a law here.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer now plans to force Republicans to cast two tough procedural votes.
First on the edge packaging and then on a modified packaging from which the edge part has been removed.
Meanwhile, Johnson tried to conduct an independent vote $17 billion in aid to Israel, but that failed in the House of Representatives after Democrats joined hardline Republicans to undermine the measure.
Continued chaos in Congress – especially within the Republican Conference – led to the bill passing by a vote of 250 to 180.
Just minutes earlier, Republicans had scheduled a vote on Mayorkas’ articles of impeachment, dealing an embarrassing blow to Johnson.
After weeks of build-up, a resolution to impeach Mayorkas failed Tuesday night, when Democrats pulled off a shock move by bringing in Texas Democrat Al Green, who had just undergone surgery.
October’s 1 million milestone is the earliest the U.S. has ever reached in terms of migrant crossings
House Republicans have failed to oust Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
This move apparently took Republicans by surprise.
“Their floor director literally told our floor director that Al wouldn’t be here,” Republican Whip Tom Emmer told DailyMail.com.
Republicans were then one vote behind — while Majority Leader Steve Scalise was off recovering from cancer treatment — and the resolution failed.