A new video showing a large group of immigrants illegally entering Texas is once again highlighting the unprecedented border crisis the U.S. is experiencing under President Joe Biden.
On Wednesday morning, Fox News journalist Bill Melugin tweeted a video of a massive group of migrants crossing the Rio Grande into the border town of Eagle Pass.
“BREAKING: One of the most massive single groups we have ever witnessed cross illegally at the border is crossing into Eagle Pass, TX right now. The line of people went so far into the trees it’s hard to get a count. Hundreds upon hundreds. Coyotes guiding them in water,” Melugin tweeted.
This is the moment the massive group first entered the water, led by a suspected cartel guide. This crossing seemed to go on endlessly. There was no Border Patrol on scene when they began arriving, only one TX National Guard humvee. More resources responding now. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/infY8H9omN
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 13, 2022
The sheer size of the group can be seen as the line of people stretched across the river and back into the trees on the Mexican side of the border.
“There’s no Border Patrol,” one person said in Melugin’s video.
“This is going to set our all-time record,” he added.
After posting the initial video, Melugin tweeted that the whole caravan had crossed into the United States.
“The entire group has now crossed over to the U.S. side and is beginning to emerge from the brush along the river,” he said.
“Two cartel guides in the water are now wading back to Mexico,” the reporter said. “This was about as clear of an example of a large scale cartel smuggling op as you’ll see.”
The entire group has now crossed over to the U.S. side and is beginning to emerge from the brush along the river. Two cartel guides in the water are now wading back to Mexico. This was about as clear of an example of a large scale cartel smuggling op as you’ll see. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/81esACvS0j
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) July 13, 2022
This is just one more symptom of a border crisis that developed when Biden took office and immediately reversed many of the border security measures of his predecessor, President Donald Trump.
“Under Joe Biden, America is facing the worst border crisis in our history,” the Senate Republican Conference declared in a March report, according to Politico.
“President Biden has undermined America’s border security and the integrity of our immigration system at every turn,” the conference’s report said. “Biden’s border policies are creating a growing national security crisis, and threatening the safety of Americans across the country.”
In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had 1.7 million encounters with illegal immigrants, the highest number ever recorded in a single year.
That figure includes only those whom Border Patrol agents found, not the many people who evaded authorities.
And although 2021 was a record-setting year, 2022 is outpacing last year’s numbers.
In May, there were 239,416 encounters, compared with 180,597 in May 2021, CBP reported. (In May 2020, during the Trump administration, the total was just 23,237.)
Aside from the staggering numbers of illegal crossings, the seriousness of the crisis has been highlighted by tragedies at the border.
At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, the Texas Tribune reported.
More recently, dozens of illegal immigrants were found dead inside a truck in San Antonio on June 27, NBC News reported.
Forty-eight of them died at the scene. Sixteen others were transported to hospitals, where five more died.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blamed the president for the horrific tragedy.
“These deaths are on Biden,” the Republican said on Twitter. “They are a result of his deadly open border policies. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.”
At Least 42 People Found Dead Inside Truck Carrying Migrants In Texas.
These deaths are on Biden.
They are a result of his deadly open border policies.
They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law. https://t.co/8KG3iAwlEk
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 28, 2022
Earlier in June, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri also blamed the Biden administration for the growing crisis.
“The human tragedy unfolding at our border is due in large parts to the policies of this administration, a massive turnaround that occurred on day one and hasn’t stopped since,” Blunt said on the Senate floor.
“We need to act and they need to act on border security effectively and restore order to our immigration process,” the Republican said. “It’s long past time for the administration to be honest with the American people about the crisis it’s created and to do something about it.”
