In an unprecedented wave, thousands of migrants are flocking to the southern border as they seek entry into the United States. The transition in leadership and immigration policies have come together to create a crisis with record numbers of border encounters and an alarming influx of unaccompanied minors.

What is Causing the Latest Surge?

In April of last year, migrants flocked to the southern border in droves because of economic disparity magnified by the pandemic, ongoing violence, and a string of natural disasters. In light of the new administration, migrants were also under the impression that immigration laws were shifting to allow for easier passage into the states. These factors combined with Biden’s complete overhaul of Trump-era immigration policies have resulted in the recent surge of migrants.

Unaccompanied Minors at the Center of Border Crisis

The number of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) encounters along the southern border has increased exponentially in this recent surge. In February 2021, 100,441 individuals crossed the southwest border. This number is a 28% jump from January 2021 encounters.

What's alarming to many advocacy groups is the staggering rate of unaccompanied minors who are crossing alone, specifically in the Rio Grande Valley. In the fiscal year 2021 which runs from October 2020 to September 2021, just under 30,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the border to-date. The latest data by the CBP shows that 2,942 of these minors are under the age of 12 while the remaining 26,850 are between 13-17 years of age. In a manner not seen before, there is a level of organization in the border crossings that has been credited to cartels profiting off migrants looking to get into the country. Along with the influx of migrants, drug seizures have grown at an alarming rate. In February, drug seizures jumped 50% from January 2021.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas explains the situation in a statement released earlier this week, “We are encountering six- and seven-year-old children, for example, arriving at our border without an adult. They are vulnerable children and we have ended the prior administration’s practice of expelling them.”

Republicans Push for Tighter Restrictions Amid Pandemic

There has been a national outcry on the handling of the migrant crisis. Republican congressional members in Texas are calling on Attorney General Ken Paxton to file a lawsuit against the Biden administration to ensure that migrants are turned away at the border. Republican lawmakers argue allowing illegal entry will result in a public health crisis because of the pandemic.

In a letter written to AG Paxton, lawmakers express, "We write to urge you to protect the American people from a crisis at our southern border, which was manufactured by the Biden Administration and has led to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants entering our nation." The letter adds, "These immigrants have not been tested for COVID-19 and pose an incredible threat to the health and safety of the American people."

The White House has pushed back against the criticism but acknowledges the unfolding crisis. At a White House press briefing earlier this week, Southern Border Czar Roberta Jacobson explains, “We can't just undo four years of the previous administration's actions overnight. Those actions didn't just neglect our immigration system; they intentionally made it worse. When you add a pandemic to that, it's clear it will take significant time to overcome.”

Mayorkas adds in his statement, “The prior administration tore down the lawful pathways that had been developed for children to come to the United States in a safe, efficient, and orderly way. It tore down, for example, the Central American Minors program that avoided the need for children to take the dangerous journey to our southwest border.” Mayorkas explains that surge is on track to be the highest in the past two decades.

FEMA Aids in Border Crisis

As the unaccompanied minors continue to make the dangerous crossing, the U.S. is running out of space to house them all. Currently, there is a backlog of over 4,200 minors in U.S. Border Patrol custody. This backlog has resulted in just under 3,000 of them having been held for longer than the 72-hour legal limit. A majority of these children are being held in short-term holding facilities that resemble detention facilities, and the concern is only growing as last week's number of children held for longer than 72 hours has nearly doubled this week.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been called in to assist in the dire strain on resources, and “decompression centers” are being built in Dallas and Midland in order to accommodate these children. The goal is to have children removed from CBP detention facilities that are built for adults and have them transferred so that they are under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services. Once under DHHS, these children will be placed with either family members or sponsors until their case is resolved. The efforts in place are only for unaccompanied minors, and adults with minors will continue to be sent back to Mexico.

While Biden has not announced any plans to visit the southern border, his administration has addressed the growing crisis and their efforts to proceed in the most humanitarian way possible. The Democratic majority House is set to vote on two immigration bills that could provide a glimmer of hope for migrants already in the country. One bill would provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers, children who were brought here illegally by their parents, while another bill would protect illegal migrant farmworkers and provide them a pathway to citizenship as well. While these two bills will likely pass the House, there is anticipation that they will face hurdles in the Senate.