Border officials see massive new surge at southern border

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Changing 'electoral dynamics'?

CNN host Dana Bash asks DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Sunday to address whether the Biden administration is allowing a record number of migrants to cross the border to change the "electoral dynamics" in the U.S.

Border officials encountered upwards of 14,000 illegal migrants at the southern border between Saturday and Friday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources. 

Leading the encounters was the Tucson, Arizona, sector, with more than 2,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants, per reporting from Fox News’ Bill Melugin. 

And that’s on top of more than 1,000 gotaways on Saturday. 

Migrants are shown in Lukeville, Arizona, on Dec. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The figures have followed a trend since President Biden took office; illegal border crossings dip around January and February, then tick back up in March before exploding in the spring. 

"If no action is taken – buckle up for the rest of the year, if the last 3 years are any indication," Melugin tweeted. "Especially if migrants feel they need to get in before Biden is potentially voted out of office."

The figures come as the border has become central to the 2024 presidential election. President Biden and the presumed GOP nominee, former President Trump, both made dueling trips to the Texas border on Thursday.

CNN HOST DEMANDS MAYORKAS RESPOND TO TRUMP CLAIM ON BIDEN WELCOMING MIGRANTS TO CHANGE ‘ELECTORAL DYNAMICS’

Biden visited Brownsville and an area of the Rio Grande Valley where illegal crossings have dropped sharply.

Trump, meanwhile, visited Eagle Pass, an area that has become a flash point between Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over the latter’s handling of illegal immigration.

Migrants cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States, Sept. 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Biden began his administration by making good on his campaign promise to roll back his predecessor’s immigration policies. He issued more than 90 executive actions on the border. But with the election looming, and under pressure from Republicans and even some Democrats, Biden has shifted course, pressing for asylum restrictions.

Still, Biden has stopped short of issuing any meaningful executive action on the border, saying the matter would best be left resolved by legislation.

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Biden embraced a sweeping bipartisan measure that was ultimately blocked by Senate Republicans over its tying of border security to wartime aid for Ukraine.