On Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that there is “no question” that cartel activity from Mexico is “spilling over” into the U.S. – as the country faces a historic crisis at the southern border triggered by a massive surge in migration.
He was asked at a House Judiciary Committee hearing by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., whether his agency knew of instances where foreign nationals coming across the border were deeply indebted to cartels and smugglers.
In the past three months, our country has seen decades-old records for the number of illegal immigrants detained at the border set in three successive months. In May, there were over 180,000 apprehended.
According to the Washington Examiner, “Only roughly 8,000 of these individuals were apprehended at ports of entry, which means the rest are coming in through unsecured sections of the southern border.”
And then there are the criminal cartels taking advantage of the chaos — as well as those who can’t pay.
“Certainly, we have seen quite a several such instances, absolutely,” Wray said.
McClintock followed up and asked if those debts are collected through indentured servitude to the cartels.
“In some cases, definitely,” the FBI director responded. ‘We are pursuing several human trafficking task forces, as well as working on certain taskforces with DHS [Department of Homeland Security] to try to address that issue.”
“But there’s no question that the cartel activity on the other side of the border is spilling over in all sorts of ways and you just put your finger on one that is extremely concerning,” he added.
Smugglers, under cover of night, scaled a 14 ft. border barrier and cruelly dropped 2 young children in the middle of the New Mexico desert. The girls, ages 3 & 5, were left miles from the nearest residence. Thank you STN Agents for rescuing these children! @CBP @CBPWestTexas pic.twitter.com/U91y2g8Lk1
— Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefEPT) March 31, 2021
Then there’s the issue of drugs. As of May, Customs and Border Protection had seized 6,494 pounds of fentanyl. That’s more than in all of 2020 and just 1,083 pounds less than 2019 and 2020 combined.
In May, the Border Patrol announced there’s been a 3,166 percent increase in convicted sex offenders apprehended in the Del Rio Sector over last year. Laredo Border Patrol, meanwhile, announced earlier this month that it had apprehended 760 illegal immigrants with criminal records this fiscal year compared with just 60 during the same period last fiscal year — a 1,267 percent increase.
President Biden’s performance on the border is consistently his weakest area in polling. Yet, this doesn’t seem to be an agenda item for him and he seems vaguely annoyed when he’s forced to talk about it. He’s delegated some amorphous role in the matter to Vice President Harris, one that entails dealing with the “root causes” of illegal immigration through diplomacy.
Officials have warned that those brought into the country are often in debt to smugglers, who charge exorbitant fees to poor migrants. Additionally, gang members and convicted sex offenders have attempted to take advantage of the migrant wave by trying to sneak in past overwhelmed agents on the ground.
Meanwhile, smugglers have been dumping unaccompanied kids at the border as young as 3 years old and leaving them alone for Border Patrol agents to find and rescue – knowing that officials will then reunite the children with their parents, who are often already in the country.
Sources: The Western Journal, Washington Examiner, Fox News