Texas border officials shared footage of three separate arrests of human smugglers trafficking across the border on Tuesday, leading border officials on high-speed pursuits.
Officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) apprehended all three border smugglers, and found at least 15 illegal immigrants hidden inside vehicles attached to a car hauler. State and federal border officials continue to see record-setting levels of illegal immigration under President Biden’s administration.
Texas DPS footage showed another smuggler evading police in a U-Haul van who crashes into a pick-up truck and attempts to flee on foot as authorities close in. Officials say the man was armed, but no shots were fired.
Authorities apprehended eight migrants who were in the back of the van.
U.S. border authorities encountered more than 718,000 migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the first 100 days of fiscal year 2023.
FY 2023 began on October 1, and U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) has encountered more than 230,000 migrants each month since, U.S. Customs and Border Protesction sources told Fox. Of the 718,000 encounters, just over 198,000 were immediately removed under Title 42, which President Biden’s administration failed to end in December.
The U.S. has seen record-breaking border crossings throughout Biden’s tenure, and especially in the final months of 2022. The White House long sought to dismiss the surge as an annual occurrence, but historical data shows the current crisis is far beyond traditional yearly surges.
President Biden made his first visit to the border as president in early January, but many border agents said the gesture was too little, too late.
‘We’re beyond frustrated that it’s taken him two years. We’re beyond frustrated that he allowed this issue to get as bad as it is,’ National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Fox News Digital on Saturday. ‘He’s not coming to the border of his own accord. He would have done that a long, long time ago.’