EAGLE PASS, Texas — Desperate migrants continue streaming across the Rio Grande near the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas, despite the state placing buoys and barbed wire in the river to stop them.

“We can’t go back to Mexico,” one migrant told Spectrum News through tears. “Why? Because we are in danger, everywhere.”  

What You Need To Know

  • A surge in such unlawful border crossings this summer and fall is calling into question the effectiveness of new border policies implemented at the state level Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden

  • The Biden administration’s new rules made way for anyone crossing the border illegally to be put on a removal flight, become ineligible to apply for asylum and banned from reentering the U.S. for several years

  • In August, the U.S. Border Patrol’s encounters were up 37% from July, but virtually similar from Aug. 2022

A surge in such unlawful border crossings this summer and fall is calling into question the effectiveness of new border policies implemented at the state level by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and nationally by Democratic President Joe Biden. 

The number of migrants apprehended by the border patrol for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully fell in June after new federal rules were put in place, but they have been increasing ever since. In August, the U.S. Border Patrol’s encounters were up 37% from July, but virtually similar from Aug. 2022.

The Biden administration’s new rules made way for anyone crossing the border illegally to be put on a removal flight, become ineligible to apply for asylum and banned from reentering the U.S. for several years.

In a new announcement Thursday, senior administration officials said such deportations will resume for Venezuelans. Officials would not say how many Venezuelans could be deported, but they said those removal flights will start up in the next few days.

One official told reporters, the policy “shows how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully, and it’s a direct consequence of these individuals’ not having availed themselves of the lawful pathways that we have created and expanded, which includes the humanitarian parole process for Venezuelan nationals and their family members.”

When asked why Biden’s and Abbott’s measures aren’t deterring border crossings, Denise Gilman, co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas Law School, said, “Well, because deterrence measures really never work.”  

“Harsh measures at the border really don’t have any meaningful impact on migrant flows, especially when you’re talking about refugee flows, people fleeing very violent, dangerous situations. They’re really not even thinking about what measures are in place at the border,” she continued. “They’re really looking at what the situation is in their home country.”

Abbott’s office defended its $8 billion border crackdown. In a statement to Spectrum News his press secretary said, “Every illegal immigrant who is apprehended, every criminal who is arrested, and every ounce of drugs seized under Operation Lone Star would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden’s reckless open border policies.” 

According to Abbott’s office, 473,000 people have been apprehended and 34,000 criminals arrests were made under the program so far.

But Gilman, who also researches immigrants’ rights and detention, said she believes illegal crossings should not be seen only as a law enforcement problem. She said while many migrants may not fully understand the constantly changing rules governing the border and that cartels may spread misinformation, there are some migrants who are so desperate they will take the risk.

“Even if a migrant knows that they are going to maybe face detention, other issues at the border,” Gilman said, “The immediacy of ‘I might be killed tomorrow, because I have received a direct threat and somebody in my family has already been killed,’ they’re still going to make the journey. It’s worth it. The risk is not greater than the potential for seeking safety.”

This week, the administration said it will waive some two dozen federal laws and regulations to build additional border barriers. Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas said his agency had to resume construction of the wall, a signature policy of former President Donald Trump’s, because Congress appropriated the money to do so and the law requires it.

“From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer. That remains our position and our position has never wavered,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “We have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money, but it has not done so and we are compelled to follow the law.”