U.S. officials along the southern border reported an increase in illegal crossings on the first day following President Joe Biden’s last-minute executive order to restrict access for asylum seekers.
Fox News footage from the U.S.-Mexico border vividly captured the moment hundreds of migrants passed through large breaches in the fencing, eventually stopping to wait for U.S. Customs and Border (CPB) patrol agents to collect them for transportation and processing. The footage, recorded in the San Diego area, starkly illustrates that President Biden’s recent increase in anti-migrant statements has not been timely or effective, with over nine million migrants estimated to have entered since his inauguration.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin, who’s been covering Biden’s border disaster for the past couple of years, filed this report with a video clip:
Yesterday was the first full day of President Biden’s executive order barring asylum to most illegal crossers being in effect, & it had no impact on numbers. Per CBP sources, Border Patrol apprehended just about 4,000 illegal immigrants yesterday, on par with the low 4,000s/mid to high 3,000s we’ve seen in recent weeks. Tucson & San Diego sectors were the top two yesterday, with roughly 1,100 illegal crossings each, not counting gotaways.
We shot the video below yesterday afternoon in San Diego sector. Overall, I’m told there were roughly 5,500 CBP encounters yesterday, about 4,000 of which were illegal crossings, and another 1,500 were encounters at CBP ports of entry, which are largely releases via the CBP One App.
WATCH:
NEW: Yesterday was the first full day of President Biden’s executive order barring asylum to most illegal crossers being in effect, & it had no impact on numbers.
Per CBP sources, Border Patrol apprehended just about 4,000 illegal immigrants yesterday, on par with the low… pic.twitter.com/Qf59z6D9v0— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 6, 2024
CPB sources informed Fox that approximately 4,000 illegal migrants were arriving daily, with an additional 1,500 crossings occurring at designated ports of entry. President Biden’s executive order, signed on Tuesday, mandates the closure of the border if daily crossings surpass 2,500 over a weeklong average, and it will only reopen once a consistent reduction to 1,500 or fewer is achieved. But that’s obviously not happening yet.
The move has created tension between Biden and progressive Democrats, who accuse him of backtracking on his commitment to a more “humane” immigration approach following the Trump administration’s severe restrictions. Leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus released a joint statement on Tuesday, asserting that “such measures impede progress and harm migrants fleeing violence and persecution, who otherwise would present a credible and meritorious case for asylum,” as reported by Newsweek.
“I am concerned that it doesn’t matter what he ends up doing. Republicans will negate it and say that it is not enough,” Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.) told the Washington Post. “And so putting at risk our own values, and believing that people have the right to seek asylum in order to try to silence those that hate immigrants, I don’t believe is the kind of strategy that is going to help us win the election in November.”
The vast majority of Americans, however, disagree with Ramirez and her caucus, including American Hispanics. According to recent polls, immigration continues to be a major concern for most voters in the 2024 election cycle. Control of the border was cited by 16% of respondents as their top issue, ranking third behind the economy and preserving American democracy.
