Southern Border Sees Record-Breaking Surge In Illegal Crossings Despite Extreme Heat

Despite hopes that the scorching heat would deter migrants from making the treacherous journey from Central America across the southern border, preliminary data from CBP show more than 1 million illegal border crossings were attempted during the first seven months of 2021, as President Biden’s lax immigration policy was seen as a green light for illegals.

During the month of June, CPB put the number of border crossings at 188K, roughly 8% higher than the 180K recorded in May.

If that number is confirmed, the number of southwestern border stops would be the highest tally for the month of June going back 21 years. The record-breaking heat experienced across the border region makes the number even more remarkable. By comparison, last June, when President Trump was still in office, the number of border crossings recorded dwindled to just 33K.

It would also be an 80% increase over the number of apprehensions in June 2019 and a whopping 469% increase over the number of encounters in June 2020, when migration patterns were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Washington Examiner, the surge of illegal migration shows that migrants are pouring over the border in historic numbers no matter the travel conditions and are breaking historical trends. What’s more, barely a week goes by when the Biden Administration doesn’t signal that it is dismantling more Trump-era immigration policies – including making it illegal for ICE or CBP to apprehend any illegal migrants who are pregnant or post-partum.

But the surge in migration during the hot summer months (at least so far) is a problem for the Biden Administration, which has dismissed the surge in migration seen earlier this year as a “seasonal” abberation. Pro-Biden media have artfully promoted the canard that illegal migration would level off in the summer. Instead, the numbers have so far continued to rise.

“So much for the ‘seasonal’ lie they tried to fly that when it gets hotter, the numbers go down,” Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told the Washington Examiner.

If there is one silver lining for the Biden Administration, it’s that the number of migrant children and teenagers has fallen slightly since earlier this year (though the figure for June was up slightly from May). The surge in unaccompanied minors earlier this year created a crisis that for many was reminiscent of a similar surge seen during the Obama years.

On average, about 500 migrant children and teenagers arrived alone at the border in June, compared with about 600 a day in March. As of Friday, nearly 15,000 children were in government shelters overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to internal data obtained by The New York Times.

The historic surge has been accompanied by its fair share of tragedy. Border Patrol agents have reported an increase in the number of dead migrants they have found around the border area. There have also been a growing number of rescues.