Border Patrol Encounters Over One Million Migrants Since October

President Joe Biden's open border policies have led to record-breaking levels of illegal migrants entering the United States, leading to over one million migrant encounters since October 1. The disastrous milestone is the earliest point in the fiscal year that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have reached the one million encounter threshold.

According to CBP, migrant encounters at the same point last year had only reached 908,000, about 100,000 less than the 2024 fiscal year. The record-breaking pace of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border was likely spurred by the record-breaking encounters in December that saw 302,000 encounters along the southern border.

When compared to various American cities, one million migrant encounters are daunting. Cities like Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; San Jose, California; and Columbus, Ohio, all have around one million residents, making it easier to visualize the true impact of the humanitarian crisis at the border.

The shocking milestone comes as the Senate is considering a "bipartisan" border deal crafted by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Sen. Kristen Sinema (I-AZ), as reported by Fox News. The legislation has been slammed by conservative Republicans as being too weak on border security and has even led to some members of the upper chamber calling for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) ouster.

"Senate GOP leadership screwed this up—and screwed us," Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote. "Even while refusing to let us see the bill they claimed to be negotiating on our behalf—for MONTHS—they were never in doubt, insisting we'd be dumb and even unpatriotic NOT to support it. This is a disqualifying betrayal."

"This feels like an elaborate practical joke. But it's not funny. Not one bit. I cannot understand how any Republican would think this was a good idea—or anything other than an unmitigated disaster," Lee explained. "WE NEED NEW LEADERSHIP — NOW." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined his colleague in demanding new Senate leadership as the crisis at the southern border worsens. "I think a Republican leader should actually lead this conference and advance the priorities of Republicans," the Texan told reporters on Tuesday. "We spent the last two years with a group, a handful of Republicans joining with Democrats, to pass the Democrat agenda. Maybe that's a good idea, but I don't think it is."

President Biden has willingly rejected the crisis at the southern border for three years, and he now expects Republicans in Congress to bail him out ahead of the 2024 election. Biden and the open-border Democrats who support him have created this issue, and they must now suffer the electoral consequences.

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