WaPo Edits Immigration Story That Claimed 'No Migrant Surge'

The Washington Post made revisions to its March 23 story that claimed “There’s no migrant ‘surge’ at the U.S. southern border. Here’s the data.” While the new version says, “this post has been updated,” the writers do not explain which parts were edited. A comparison to the archived version of the page shows quite a bit changed.

The headline now reads, “The migrant ‘surge’ at the U.S. southern border is actually a predictable pattern." And the introduction, which spoke about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declaring the rise in unaccompanied minors crossing the border a “crisis…created by the presidential policies of this new administration," has been removed.

The edited version of the article also includes an entirely new section on the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the border, admitting this “appears to be more than just a seasonal pattern.”

What is more unusual at this moment is the increase in border crossings by unaccompanied minors, which appears to be more than just a seasonal pattern. This poses a more distinctive challenge for the Biden administration, although it is also possible that there will be a similar drop in crossings by minors during the summer months.
Have Biden administration policies caused this increase? There is no evidence to suggest that this is the case. Organizations working with asylum seekers and unaccompanied children in the San Diego-Tijuana border region tell us that even before President Biden took office smugglers may have been exploiting potential clients by claiming it would be easier to enter the United States once the Trump administration was gone.This is supported by the literature that examines changes in the fees smugglers charge at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as a DHS report on the same subject. (WaPo)