Border Patrol agents in the area of El Paso, Texas, have apprehended more than 38,500 illegal immigrants in the 21 days since Oct. 1—averaging almost 13,000 per week, according to provisional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data obtained by The Epoch Times.
In January, agents in El Paso arrested an average of 4,500 per week.
As with the whole southern border, illegal crossings in El Paso have trended up all year; the region has become the new hotspot after the Del Rio, Texas, area for most apprehensions per month.
“If you think the lawlessness at the border and the millions illegally crashing it has been bad during Biden’s term so far, wait until the numbers keep rolling in for this FY. Already shattering records again,” the National Border Patrol Council wrote on its Twitter page on Oct. 24. The new federal fiscal year began on Oct. 1.
“We said months ago he was just getting started. And he was.”
The city of El Paso is receiving millions of dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to feed, house, and transport the illegal aliens once they’re released by Border Patrol.
Since May, when the city issued an emergency ordinance, it has set up a mammoth operation in conjunction with local NGOs to provide thousands of illegal immigrants with meals, hotel rooms, and help with bus or plane tickets to their chosen destination.
More than 100 city employees are working full-time to assist with the operation, and several council members have expressed concern that local projects are being delayed because of the shift in resources.
Venezuelan nationals have made up the bulk of the sudden increase in illegal crossings into El Paso since August (up to 70 percent, according to El Paso’s city manager).
In September, more than 20,000 Venezuelan nationals turned up in El Paso; during the months of July and August, border agents had apprehended 611 and 3,539 Venezuelans respectively, according to CBP data.
