A new migrant caravan is headed to the southern border of the United States.
Hundreds of South American migrants are traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border reportedly hoping to reach America before the election in November.
According to AP News, migrants in the caravan are concerned that former President Donald Trump will enforce border crossing restrictions if he wins a second term.
“We are running the risk that permits (to cross the border) might be blocked,” Miguel Salazar, an El Salvadorian migrant, told the outlet.
President Joe Biden, who announced on July 21 that he is ending his bid for reelection, has been criticized for failing to stop increasing illegal immigration.
The House Budget Committee denounced the president in April for the 307% increase in illegal immigration that has been documented since he took office in January 2021. The committee reported that the federal government has spent just over $66.45 billion on immigration and 85% of illegal immigrants who crossed the southern border were released into the country.
“President Biden and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have abandoned our nation’s border states in favor of open border policies that have cost the American taxpayer billions of their hard-earned dollars,” stated the committee. “Because of a lack of leadership from the Biden Administration, states have had to fill the void. The fiscal impact to house, feed, clothe, care for, and educate illegal immigrants is snowballing out of control.”
Under the Biden administration, migrants can request an appointment with American immigration authorities through the CBP One app. However, the controversial app does not work south of Mexico City or outside of Mexico’s northern states. Pro-immigration groups sued the federal government in August of 2023, claiming the app did not work and was an unlawful hurdle for asylum seekers.
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green argued the Biden administration had been warned that the app would be abused by cartels. His warning was confirmed by a report from the Washington Examiner.
“We warned [the Biden administration] that the CBP One app will be basically used by the cartels and, sure enough, the Washington Examiner broke the story a week ago, that they have set up a specific VPN and are filling out the applications for people to speed them into our country,” he told Fox Business on Aug. 9. “It’s absolutely absurd.”
According to a July 12 report from the New York Post, the Biden administration plans to launch a new app that will “let the millions of illegal migrants released into the US to await their asylum proceedings check in with immigration officials on a phone or computer.”
“This means the migrants will no longer be required to check in with their local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office every few months while they wait to plead their asylum case in immigration court,” noted the outlet. “Under President Biden’s leadership, the number of migrants illegally crossing the southern border has exploded, leading to massive lines and backlogs at ICE field offices.”
