Increase in Mexico border crossings pushes U.S. resources to the brink

Authorities are struggling to deal with chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border as thousands of migrants arrive every day, coming of the most remote regions of the world. In an isolated place in the Arizona desert, near a hole in the border wall, dozens of migrants have gathered around a wood fire.

After fleeing the war in Sudan, the violent gangs of Central America or the Mexican cartels, the men had all entered illegally in the United States, had marched on foot over rugged terrain for hours and arrived at this outpost exhausted, hungry and cold.

They wanted to go to the authorities to ask for asylum, but they found themselves stuck here, miles from the nearest town, Sásabe.

Then, as temperatures dropped Tuesday evening, a convoy of Border Patrol agents arrived, loaded the men into a van for processing, and fled to full speed, looking for others in need of rescue.< /p>

“We are not equipped to deal with this,” said Scott Carmon, Border Patrol surveillance commander, surveying the muddy encampment. "It's a humanitarian disaster."

This is the crisis unfolding at the southern border, as encounters with migrants once again reach record levels and are testing the ability of U.S. law enforcement to contain an explosion of illegal crossings with far-reaching repercussions for the Biden administration.

Des Thousands of migrants arrive at the border every day, coming from the most remote parts of the world, from Africa to Asia to South America, driven by unrelenting violence, desperation and poverty.

In May, the Biden administration briefly celebrated the decline in border crossings, even after the pandemic-era border. restrictions were lifted and many feared the floodgates would open. But the numbers have soared in recent months, sparking sharp criticism from both parties and fears within the administration that the issue could harm Democrats' electoral future.

ImageSecretary of State Antony J. Blinken, third from left, meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Wednesday , at the head of the table.Credit...Raquel Cunha/Reuters

Last week, the number of arrests reached more than 10,000 per day, putting a strain on straining Border Patrol resources and overwhelming the small towns on both sides of the border to which people were being funneled. by smugglers consolidating new routes to evade capture by US authorities.

“In terms of migrants per day, December 2023 is larger than any average we’ve ever seen,” said Adam Isacson, a migration expert at the Washington Office on Latin America. "Every official who comments on this topic, at every level, says they are near or past the breaking point."

Secretary of State Antony J Blinken and other top officials traveled to Mexico on Wednesday to discuss rising migration with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, while U.S. officials monitored a new caravan of more than 2,000 migrants heading towards the north of the country towards the United States.

The caravan is unlikely to reach the United States, according to experts, but it has attracted media attention on the tide of migrants who have already crossed the border en masse.

Mexico has been a strong supporter of US border restrictions, stopping a record number migrants this year, according to government figures. But in...