Cartels and Smugglers Understand Immigration Policy Better than the Administration
WaPo releases early border data, showing an inevitable migrant family surge
By Andrew R. Arthur on September 5, 2023
On August 31, the Washington Post — which seemingly has earlier access to CBP data than voters do — released preliminary statistics on illegal crossings last month at the U.S.-Mexico line. CBP usually drops those numbers around the 15th of the month, except when they’re bad, a common occurrence of late. Expect yet another late-night dump of official border stats this month, because according to the paper, Border Patrol apprehensions at the Southwest border surged in August, exceeding 177,000 — a 33 percent increase over July, itself a 33 percent increase over June. The authors of that piece say a lot, but what’s unsaid is that the cartels and smugglers understand immigration policy and its implications better than the Biden administration, particularly as it relates to illegal family migrants.
Biden vs. Every Prior Administration at the Border. The headline of that article is “Families crossing U.S. border illegally reached all-time high in August”, and credit goes to the authors — Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti, two of the best immigration reporters in the business — for putting that critical fact front and center. To be honest, everything else that’s going on at the border flows from the family surge, which is a harbinger of a rough fall at the Southwest border.
Let me explain. Prior to FY 2013, few adult migrants were stupid (or callous) enough to bring a child with them when entering the United States illegally. The border between the ports is no place for a kid, and as I’ll explain below, the border is likely the safest part of the journey.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Cartels-and-Smugglers-Understand-Immigration-Policy-Better-Administration
