Breaking Point at the Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner called the number of daily apprehensions last week “unprecedented.” Some Democrats are panicking ahead of next year's election.

The U.S. border with Mexico. Source: Lemanieh / Getty Images.

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Thousands of migrants churned in a corral of orange safety fencing illuminated by bright lights. The emergency blankets draped over their shoulders shimmered in the night. They looked like a school of silvery fish waiting to be processed in Eagle Pass, Texas, by the Border Patrol agents who caught them.

In the first days of December, federal agents were confronted with a tidal wave of migrants 167,000 strong along our border with Mexico. Last week, there were approximately 10,000 or more daily apprehensions. Troy Miller, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner, called the numbers “unprecedented.” In an effort to slow the influx, the agency temporarily suspended operations at the international railway crossing bridges in Eagle Pass and El Paso.