GOP reps to launch Northern Border Security Caucus, as officials tackle surge in migrant encounters

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers in the House are launching a Northern Border Security Caucus to come up with solutions as the often overlooked border is seeing its own surge in illegal migrant encounters -- with at least one sector calling for help from their colleagues.

Twenty-eight lawmakers, led by Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who will serve as co-chairs, are launching the caucus next week to draw attention to the growing problems the border is facing and to create solutions to combat both drug and human smuggling across the border.

There has been a sharp increase in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encounters of migrants at the northern border, jumping from 32,376 in FY 2020 to 109,535 in FY 2022. There have also been more recent increases in drug seizures, all while staffing levels have remained roughly static for years. The border, which is 5,525 miles, only has 115 ports of entry. 

Some sectors have seen historic highs, with Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector seeing an 846% increase compared to the same period in FY 2022. FY23's total apprehensions and encounters have already surpassed FY22 and FY21 combined.  This week Fox News reported that Border Patrol is appealing for volunteers to deal with the surge, which is attributed to "Mexican migrants with no legal documents."

BORDER PATROL CALLS FOR AGENTS TO VOLUNTEER AT NORTHERN BORDER AMID 846% SURGE IN ONE SECTOR

The caucus will launch with 28 members, with Republicans lawmakers from across the country including Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-NY., Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas.

The lawmakers are warning that while the main focus of attention is on the crisis at the southern border, where numbers are significantly higher, cartels are growing their operations in the north and CBP has suffered with staffing issues. The ongoing pressure is something that Republicans have pinned at least in part on the Biden administration’s policies, which they have also blamed for the migrant crisis ongoing at the southern border.

"The numbers don’t lie: the Biden administration’s open-border policies have allowed for a surge in human and drug trafficking across the U.S.-Canadian border, the longest international border in the entire world," Kelly said in a statement. 

"Over the last two years, every state has become a border state. I’ve spoken with Border Patrol officials in my home state of Pennsylvania who tell me they are pulling double duty – they are digitally processing migrants who are apprehended at the Southern border while now also trying to defend the Northern border," he said. "Migrants and smugglers are seeking alternative routes into the United States, and the Northern border is increasingly their first stop."

Kelly said the goal of the caucus is to provide "Our goal is to provide commonsense, practical solutions that will increase security across all of America’s borders."

VERMONT BORDER APPREHENSIONS IN LAST THREE MONTHS MORE THAN PAST TWO YEARS COMBINED 

"The first thing bad guys do is go where the good guys aren’t," Zinke said. "Right now, all our good guys are dealing with Biden’s crisis on the Southwest border leaving the north unprotected and vulnerable to criminals, cartels and terrorists. "By establishing the caucus, we will provide critical oversight and expose the truth to the American people about the nationwide crisis this administration has willingly caused."

The lawmakers also acknowledge that the challenges the northern border has been facing have been there in some form for many years. A 2017 DHS threat analysis report found that the large volume of travel, as well as stretches of barren terrain between the ports, provided the potential for individuals who pose a national security risk to enter the U.S.

A 2019 Government Accountability Office identified staffing and resource challenges, as well as the need for measures to assess security between ports of entry.

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Meanwhile, CBP has recently sounded the alarm about not only the challenges agents are facing, but also the risks to migrants who are crossing in often freezing temperatures.

 "As we progress deeper into winter and continue to address the ongoing pace of illicit cross-border traffic, the level of concern for the lives and welfare of our Border Patrol Agents and those we are encountering - particularly vulnerable populations - continues to climb," CBP said.

Fox News' Bill Melugin contributed to this report.