Bracing for an imminent surge, border agents stationed across the southwest frontier find themselves inundated as thousands of migrants continue to queue up for trains heading toward the United States. Regardless of the Biden administration's admonishments that the majority would face removal, the past year's records reveal a meager fraction of illegal crosser deportations.
Staggering data illustrates the cumulative figure of encounters across the southwest border, surpassing 9,000 instances subdivided across nine sectors. Half of these sectors reported upwards of 1,000 encounters, painting a grim picture of overstrained agents stretching from California, through Arizona, and reaching as far as Texas.
Migrant travel routes have been traced to a location nearly three hours south of the border near Montclova. Here, the migrants have created a conduit for themselves, terminating at Eagle Pass after stopping at Piedras Negras, the neighboring Mexican town. These migrants, existing in the tens of thousands, strive to clamber onto already crowded trains, with impending arrivals scheduled for the following day.
Drone footage has painted an illuminating image of the vast groups of individuals converging at the border. Once regarded as alarming, clusters of 50 to 100 have swelled dramatically to include groups of up to 600 and in certain cases, reaching 800. This cresting tide of migrants, observed over the past week, noted an extraordinary 15,000 crossing attempts plus over 1,100 managed to infiltrate without being apprehended.
Well-placed journalists have shed light on activity from the migrants' side of the fence as well. A seeming correlation is drawn in what's referred to as 'the selfie factor'. Migrants celebrating their safe arrival by taking selfies and posting them online, are seemingly incentivizing others to follow.
Despite amplified chatter over deportations, the evidence paints a contrasting picture. Recent data released by ICE for the fiscal year 2022 revealed 72,177 deportations across over 150 countries. Meanwhile, the same year saw 2,378,944 illegal crossings. This stark chasm indicates that a minuscule 3% were deported, leaving a staggering 97% remaining within the country's borders.
.jpg?w=600)
