Migrants flood Texas border cities as fallout from ending of Title 42 continues
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the aftermath of the ending of Title 42 and what can be done to mitigate the migrant surge.
Texas law enforcement officials recently encountered 30 Chinese citizens near the southern border as pressure mounts to address the flow of migrants illegally crossing into the United States.
A trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety found the group walking along a road in Roma, in the Rio Grande Valley.
The trooper was able to get them off the road and called the U.S. Border Patrol. Agents responded and processed the group.
The Rio Grande Valley has been a hotbed of illegal crossings into the U.S. from Mexico.
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A group of 30 Chinese migrants were caught walking near the southern border in Texas. (Bill Melugin)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been especially aggressive in taking steps to combat the illegal flow of migrants into his state, while criticizing the Biden administration for not doing more to address the border. He has gone as far as busing migrants to democratic-led cities to prove his point.
However, officials have said Border Patrol agents have seen a 50% drop in the number of migrants since May 11, when Title 42 expired.
"The numbers we have experienced in the past two days are markedly down over what they were prior to the end of Title 42," U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on CNN's "State of the Union" program.
Mayorkas said there were 6,300 border encounters Friday, and 4,200 Saturday, but cautioned it was still early in the new regime.
He credited criminal penalties for migrants who illegally enter the country, which resumed under existing law after the expiration, for the decrease in crossings.
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The public health order adopted under former President Donald Trump allowed officials to expel migrants quickly without an asylum process but did not impose penalties.
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