CBP says there were more than 302,000 southwest border encounters in December

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has relased data showing a staggering amount of southwest border encounters during December.

"In December 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 249,785 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border. CBP's total encounters along the southwest border in December were 302,034," CBP reported.

In a statement issued on Friday, President Joe Biden used the term "border crisis" twice.

"For too long, we all know the border's been broken. It's long past time to fix it.That's why two months ago, I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators to seriously, and finally, address the border crisis," he said in the statement. "If you're serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it."

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah tweeted, "If this deal has already 'been negotiated,' why can't senators see it?" Lee then added, "'Democracy dies in darkness.'"

Border security is critical to public safety. For example, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens recently posted about two child sex offenders who were apprehended by authorities.

"USBP agents in Del Rio, TX & Rio Grande Valley, TX nabbed two child sex offenders with prior felony convictions. These subjects were caught trying to re-enter the U.S. illegally. Agents being out on patrol is what stopped them from getting to your communities," Owens noted.

Drug trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border, including the smuggling of the dangerous drug fentanyl, is also a major issue. The Drug Enforcement Administration says that the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels are behind much of the fentanyl flowing into the U.S. "The cartels purchase chemicals from companies in China, mass produce the fentanyl in Mexico, and then traffic and distribute finished fentanyl widely throughout the United States," the DEA has noted.

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