In an extraordinary action, US authorities have closed key bridges and ports along the border with Mexico in trying to stem illegal migration. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shuttered two railway crossings in Texas on Monday (Dec 18), stopped another bridge for automobiles seeking entry into the US, and reduced a third bridge to one lane. According to the Wall Street Journal, the action not only stranded thousands of migrants at the border but also hindered cross-border activity ahead of the busy Christmas week.
More than 10,000 arrests were made every day throughout the whole US-Mexico border in December
Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation on Monday granting state police broad authority to arrest and deport illegal border crossers. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reacted angrily to the measure. He maintained that Texas has no jurisdiction over federal concerns in the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Texas Civil Rights Project also filed a lawsuit on Tuesday (Dec 19) to challenge the new law’s constitutionality. According to CBP data, around 3,000 migrants were apprehended by officials at Eagle Pass on Monday, the majority of whom were from Venezuela, Honduras, and Nicaragua. According to officials, more than 10,000 arrests were made every day throughout the whole US-Mexico border in December.
Meanwhile, a second analysis released by the US Census Bureau found that the spike in immigration was fueling population growth in the US in unprecedented ways over the last two decades. According to the report, the United States added 1.6 million individuals, more than two-thirds of whom came from international migration, increasing the country’s total population to 334.9 million. In the pandemic era, population growth slowed due to COVID-19 regulations and a crackdown on cross-border travel. However, immigration increased to about 1 million individuals last year. This year, the trend continued, with 1.1 million immigrants entering US territory, a figure not seen since 2001. In the absence of immigration, the US population was expected to shrink, according to William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution. “The immigration piece is going to be the main source of growth in the future,” Frey went on to say.
