Border security remains top issue for voters as CBP reports record-high encounters
WASHINGTON (TND) — One hot-button topic motivating voters is the growing migrant crisis at the southern border.
New figures just released by Customs and Border Protection show there was an 11% increase in encounters with undocumented immigrants just from this past August to September.
Enduring the long treacherous trek in search of a better life, another caravan of migrants from Honduras made its way to America's southern border.
"We hope for a better future,” one migrant said. “The floods left us without a home; we are looking for a new life.”
While it may seem like an endless stream, there are hard numbers: the CBP report released late last Friday night showed a record 2.37 million encounters at the southern border last fiscal year. That’s up dramatically from 1.73 million in 2021 — an increase of 37% and 59% higher than the last pre-COVID count in 2019.
“We can be compassionate at the border but you've got to enforce the law. If you do not return people, this is what you're going to have,” Henry Cuellar said on Fox News Sunday.
NPR reports that a growing number of border-crossers are from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua and fewer are coming from northern Central America, signaling a new challenge administration as the November midterm elections draw closer.
“It just seems like Republicans care and talk about more. They talk about the border issue a lot more,” independent voter Justin Stubbs said.
But the Biden administration insists that they have control of the border.
“We have a secure border in that that is a priority. For any nation including ours and our administration but there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix,” Vice President Kamala Harris said.
Immigration ranked fourth for voter priorities, according to NBC polling, behind only threats to democracy and multiple economic issues. It’s likely to remain a high concern as long as these numbers also keep growing.
The Biden administration’s fight against drugs is seeing tough figures there too. Seizures of the deadly drug fentanyl are up 24% at the southern border.
