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House Republicans on Monday called on the Biden-Harris administration to release data on the border crisis. They claim that the border is not being adequately monitored and that Biden is purposely hiding information from Congress.
“While we learned a great deal on this trip, it is clear that there are many aspects of the border crisis that are not being adequately monitored or are being hidden from members of Congress and the public,” they wrote in a statement.
Similarly, they indicated that the data should include the number of undocumented migrants who are released by federal agencies. It should also include which federal agencies are tracking unaccompanied children apprehended at the border.
In addition, they argued that there is a crisis there due to the influx of undocumented migrants that have contributed to the collapse of the border. “The dramatic influx of undocumented migrants, and in particular the resources needed to support unaccompanied alien minors, have overwhelmed our border and local communities.”
Border crisis, according to the White House
Meanwhile, the White House denied Monday that there is an immigration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the Democratic administration does not consider the arrival of children seeking refuge to be a crisis.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported two weeks ago that migrant arrests at the border reached their highest level in 20 years. In addition, it detailed in a report that there was a 71% increase compared to March.
The bureau explained that in March it apprehended an all-time record number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border: a total of 18,890. “This is the highest number for a single month since the agency began tracking this data in 2009,” CBP said.
Troy Miller, a senior Customs and Border Protection official, also noted that “CBP has experienced an increase in encounters and arrests. This is not new. Encounters have continued to increase since April 2020, and our past experiences have helped us to be better prepared for the challenges we face this year.”
