New reporting from CNN, of all places, sheds light on how the crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas, got out of hand so quickly, and it looks like the Biden administration is to blame yet again after "calls for increased resources appear to have gone unmet until recent days when thousands and thousands of migrants were forced to wait under a bridge near the US-Mexico border."
Border Patrol agents on the ground in Del Rio were, like their counterparts elsewhere along the southern border, seeing first-hand the impact of President Biden's lax border policies. Those covering the area along the Rio Grande in Del Rio noticed a steady increase in the volume of illegal border crossings as migrants began to set up camp under the International Bridge that's become infamous as the home to some 15,000 illegal immigrants in recent days.
The makeshift camp goes on for a long time underneath the bridge in Del Rio. pic.twitter.com/DTnK7Fu0nR
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 19, 2021
According to CNN, "the uptick earlier this year prompted the local union, representing Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, to request technology and other resources to process migrants when they are first encountered at the border. Around the same time, the agency started mandating overtime for personnel in the region, a sign that resources were beginning to stretch thin," CNN's reporting explains.
Clearly, those higher up the chain could see there were already issues patrolling and enforcing the international border, but they continued to avoid action. The timeline of events according to emails between those in the field and those with the ability to help paints a picture of willful ignorance:
On June 1, the union suggested to regional management that it send agents to the field with tablets to start the intake process when a large group crosses the river, instead of having the group wait there while space is cleared in the station, according to Jon Anfinsen, National Border Patrol Council local president in Del Rio, Texas, who shared content of emails back-and-forth with management.
"This way, we can at least get part of the process finished before they even get to the station instead of wasting that time," said the email, which was written to memorialize a meeting earlier that day, according to Anfinsen.
No response was received and on June 3, the union sent another email again asking for agents to be sent with tablets whenever the large groups show up to take care of intake at the earliest possible point. The union also suggested putting a trailer or RV in the field to staff it with intelligence agents to help with the work for large groups that arrived.
On June 17, the union received a one-sentence response to the tablet request: "This is being explored, several other platforms are being considered which are more efficient."
It's unclear if additional responses were sent afterward or how management responded to the requests.
The agency did consider the tablets but it never materialized into anything of substance, according to Anfinsen, who was speaking on behalf of the union, not the agency.
The migrant groups continued to increase in size and frequency as the months wore on, but the temporary facilities started to come online only recently -- "after things had already spun out of control," he said.
As the emails and reporting show, Border Patrol could see the crisis coming and asked Biden's DHS for additional resources and a plan to address the surge in illegal immigrants. But the Biden administration didn't provide the requested help.
As Townhall reported previously, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas still does not admit publicly that the out of control illegal immigration situation along the U.S.-Mexico border is "a crisis," even when asked by Townhall's Julio Rosas when Mayorkas visited Del Rio this week.
I asked Sec. Mayorkas if he will publicly admit the situation at the border is a crisis since he was recorded last month privately admitting there is a crisis and it’s unsustainable.
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 20, 2021
He did not, instead saying DHS is focused on “meeting the challenge.” pic.twitter.com/TmYoxUaqsM
Perhaps it's because Mayorkas knows the crisis is caused by his and President Biden's inaction.