Immigration and the transition to Donald Trump's administration: Border Watch with Jonathan Mejia
FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia Border Watch with Jonathan Mejia newsletter
Border watchers,
It’s been a while since we last met and started this journey and a lot has happened since then. You can read my first newsletter here.
We launched this newsletter with the purpose of keeping our eyes on the border during a major election year and the impacts immigration and border security would have on the outcome. We’ll get into that in just a bit.
Now, we’re ready to transition the newsletter, as we transition to a new Presidential administration.
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On Nov. 5, America voted and decided. Former President Donald Trump won the election. Immigration and border security were key issues in his campaign. Trump promised that if elected, he would make sweeping changes to the border on day one.
Since his election, Trump named Tom Homan as his border czar. Texas Governor Greg Abbott reinforced his support for Operation Lone Star, extending a border wall, adding concertina wire, and sending more law enforcement officers to the border. Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham offered state-owned land to the incoming administration to aid in its mass deportation plan.
President-elect Trump could inherit a relatively quiet border. The number of U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions between ports of entry in FY 2024 was the lowest it has been since FY 2020, and a 25% decrease from last year, according to CBP. In September, approximately 53,900 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border were recorded. That’s 7% lower than August and 65% lower than September 2023.
Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border set a new low in November for the Biden administration. Reuters reports 47,000 migrants illegally crossed into the U.S. in November, according to a preliminary tally by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, that spoke on condition of anonymity to share unpublished data.
Eyes will continue to be on the border as Trump is officially sworn into office. We will be here on a weekly basis to look at the biggest news.
Of course, it’s one thing to report on numbers, and it’s another thing to see things for yourself. Next week "Border Watch with Jonathan Mejia" readers will get exclusive content from the border, as I travel south.