U.S. officials to visit Mexico soon as border crisis worsens
U.S. officials to visit MX soon amid border crisis
Be it Arizona or Texas, border officials say the latest surge in migrant crossings shows no signs of letting up. Railroads are also demanding immediate changes after U.S. officials this past weekend closed two rail crossings in Texas to redirect border personnel to deal with the surge.
DALLAS - Top U.S. officials could visit Mexico as soon as this weekend as the situation at the border worsens.
Customs and Border Patrol saw the highest number ever of single-day crossings earlier this week.
The surge has also resulted in the disruption of rail service with companies reporting the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars a day.
Border Patrol is seeing record numbers as we approach the new year. While discussions are happening, it’s still unclear whether any change is on the way.
Be it Arizona or Texas, border officials say the latest surge in migrant crossings shows no signs of letting up.
"Instead of the border patrol, the joke is we’re the welcome patrol. That’s what we’ve become," said National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd. "We’re just moving people through the system. We’re not performing enforcement work because we just don’t have the resources to do it."
Railroads are also demanding immediate changes after U.S. officials this past weekend closed two rail crossings in Texas to redirect border personnel to deal with the surge.
Union Pacific alone says it’s losing $200 million each day.
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"That’s farmers, that’s American businesses, that’s American workers who are all being impacted. And it’s time to stop holding American farmers and businesses hostage," said Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jefferies.
The Biden administration announced plans Thursday to send top officials to Mexico to work on solutions. President Joe Biden spoke with Mexico’s president earlier in the day.
"The two leaders agreed that additional enforcement actions are urgently needed so that key ports of entry can be reopened across our shared border," said National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby.
Meanwhile, Chicago leaders are pushing back after Governor Greg Abbott announced the first flight of migrants flown from El Paso to Chicago this week.
It came just after Chicago’s mayor announced harsher penalties for bus drivers who don’t follow guidelines for dropping off migrants. Texas has previously been busing migrants to other major cities.
Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez says there needs to be more support for the federal and state governments to help cities care for arriving migrants.
It is shameful that elected officials at the highest level of government are not willing to collaborate and cooperate to save lives," he said. "I think it’s time for the federal government to show leadership and for states and municipalities to be able to coordinate with one another."
Lawmakers in D.C. are still trying to hash out an agreement on border policy changes as part of that broader aid package for Ukraine and Israel, but it appears there will be no deal until sometime after the holidays.