TEXAS — It is now officially past one year since Joe Biden became president and kick-started the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border by revoking several of former President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Everything from halting construction of the new border wall system to getting rid of Remain in Mexico to not applying Title 42 to a majority of family units and all unaccompanied minors signaled to those who want to enter the U.S. illegally that now is the time to do so.
Texas, particularly South Texas, has been the hardest hit region along the southern border. From Del Rio to McAllen, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have crossed over from Mexico, with many turning themselves in to Border Patrol and thousands of others being able to avoid apprehension due to law enforcement being overwhelmed.
On my recent trip to Texas, which took me to Hidalgo all the way up to Eagle Pass, the situation at the border looked very much the same as when I first arrived in March 2021. The Rio Grande Valley Sector was in a bit of a lull of family units and unaccompanied minors presenting themselves because of the colder weather, but U.S. authorities were still inundated with attempted runners. In the Del Rio Sector, groups of up to 500 people were crossing the Rio Grande at once to turn themselves in to Border Patrol. The trails along common hotspots are still littered with trash and discarded clothes people dump on their way into the country.
Discarded bracelets smugglers use to keep track of illegal immigrants. (Townhall Media/Julio Rosas)
Mix of families and attempted runners being processed by Border Patrol in Hidalgo. (Townhall Media/Julio Rosas)
This material for the border wall has been sitting on the ground for over one year in La Joya. (Townhall Media/Julio Rosas)
Improvised border wall made of shipping containers put in place by Texas in Eagle Pass. (Townhall Media/Julio Rosas)
Though a typically liberal-leaning area, the Hidalgo County GOP hopes to flip the country red by pointing to the border crisis. (Townhall Media/Julio Rosas)
While just a snapshot in a region where the border problems have long existed but have worsened within the past year, there is little hope the surge in illegal activity will subside anytime soon. Of course, the federal government can do a 180 and go back to policies that worked, but I would not hold your breath.