The good news is that the number of illegal border crossings is down in Texas. The bad news is that illegal border crossings are up in other states. 

In the first three months of 2024, illegal border crossings are up 10% along the U.S.-Mexico border. A shift is happening as illegal immigrants have moved from primarily crossing into Texas to crossing into Arizona and California. 

In the five Texas sectors of the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data shows the total number of illegal crossings for the first three months of 2024 are down 37% from 2023 and down 51% from 2022.

Why is this happening? Are the results due to actions by the Biden administration or is it due to better cooperation from Mexico? Or is it because of the actions taken by Governor Abbott in Texas? 

I tend to think it is due to what Governor Abbott has been doing in Texas. It may be a mix of all the possible reasons. The truth is that in order to control the southern border, everyone has to cooperate and work together. We saw that during the Trump administration. 

To secure the U.S.-Mexico border, both countries have to be on the same page. The Remain in Mexico agreement during the previous administration was a crucial step in securing the border, for example. Unfortunately, President Biden stopped that program on his first day in office as he went on a spree of signing executive orders that opened up the southern border. 

Mexico is now working to control its southern border. Mexico is ramping up its efforts to stop migrants from traveling through the country on the way to the United States. 

When all else fails, the southern border has to be fortified and that is what Governor Abbott has been doing. That, I think, is why the illegal border crossers are shifting away from the Texas border and finding spots to cross into Arizona and California. 

Governor Abbott has brought the country's Republican governors together to lend a hand to Texas in securing the border. Democrat governors have not been willing to answer Abbott's calls for help. Shocker, I know. 

Abbott’s escalating feud with the federal government comes as he seeks to expand Texas’ role in immigration enforcement, an area that is a federal responsibility. Backed with some $11 billion from the GOP-controlled Legislature, Abbott has deployed thousands of state police and National Guard members to the border to arrest migrants for trespassing on private land and other state charges. The administration also has set up barriers along the Rio Grande, including thick strands of razor wire, all under the umbrella of Abbott's sweeping border initiative known as Operation Lone Star.

Governor Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 when it became apparent that Biden would not do anything to secure the southern border. Biden's border crisis is intentional. It seems he thinks he is growing the Democrat Party by allowing in millions of illegal aliens as congressional Democrats push for blanket amnesty. Visions of future Democrat voters dance in their heads. 

The Biden administration has worked against the efforts made by Texas all along. Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed. The final decision about the power of states to secure their borders from a foreign invasion will have to be made at the Supreme Court level. Governor Abbott declared the border crisis as an invasion which he thinks will help Texas in legal battles.

Illegal border crossings are down in Texas but human smuggling operations are not. 

“In Texas alone, we’ve had a 72% decrease in illegal border crossings,” said Lt. Chris Olivarez with the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“We’re down across the board, down in pursuits, down in smuggler apprehensions, and down in bail bailouts,” said Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe.

Olivarez said the decrease in illegal border crossings has freed up DPS resources to focus more on human smuggling operations. While smuggling is not a new problem in Texas, there has been a shift in who is willing to try to cash in on the smuggling trade.

“These are people that are not your typical criminals, they don’t have criminal backgrounds,” said Olivarez. “These are first offenders.”

It is good news for Texas that the numbers are dropping. The illegal crossings at Eagle Pass, for example, have dropped from 5,000 per day to just a few illegal border crossers per day. 

Walls work, whether it is a wall of steel or razor wire. An increase in personnel works, too. The more boots on the ground, the better, to hold off large groups of people. Joe Biden knows all this. He just doesn't care.