El Paso faced a ‘huge increase in illegal crossings’ over the weekend, says senior border official

(Trends Wide) — More than 2,400 migrants crossed into the United States near El Paso, Texas, each day over the weekend, according to a senior Border Patrol official, describing what he called a “huge increase in illegal crossings” in the region.

“Over the weekend, the El Paso sector experienced a large increase in illegal crossings, averaging 2,460 daily encounters over 3 days, primarily through the downtown El Paso area. We will continue to keep the public informed as the situation evolves,” El Paso Sector Acting Patrol Chief Peter Jaquez said in a tweet.

Hundreds of migrants have been staying on the other side of the border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, raising concerns among officials that many will attempt to cross when Title 42, a Trump-era border policy, ends in late December.

“The team has been working very hard to ensure that we are taking steps to manage the expiration of Title 42 and put in place an orderly and humane process. And we believe that by doing so, we can protect our security concerns,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.

The city of El Paso has been monitoring the situation and is in ongoing discussions with federal, state and local partners, according to Laura Cruz Acosta, the city’s director of strategic communications.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will visit El Paso Tuesday where he will “meet with the CBP workforce, review operations, and meet with local officials and organizations,” the DHS said.

Administration officials have been bracing for a surge of migrants when Trump-era Covid-19 restrictions are lifted this month following a court order blocking the use of authority, known as Title 42. Since March As of 2020, when the authority was invoked, border officials have turned away migrants at the US-Mexico border more than 2 million times.

The Biden administration has asked Congress for more than $3 billion as it prepares for an end to Trump-era border politics later this month, according to a source familiar with the request. The request, first reported by NBC News, is aimed at shoring up resources for technology and border management and is part of broader funding discussions. It is not specific to the end of Title 42, a public health authority invoked under the Trump administration that largely barred asylum seekers at the border from entering the US, the source said.

“If Republicans in Congress are serious about border security, they would make sure the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security have the resources they need to secure our border and build a safe, orderly and humane immigration system,” he said. White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan in a statement.