The Biden administration is reportedly preparing for a surge at the border by illegal immigrants in the several weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes power.
Citing “two U.S. officials and exchanges between immigrants on WhatsApp groups,” NBC News reported Wednesday that would-be migrants are hoping to get ahead of Mr. Trump’s expected immigration crackdown and that America is preparing to counter that.
On Monday afternoon, NBC reported, concerns were raised about the border-security implications of a possible Trump victory during a meeting of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, his top advisers, and the heads of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The U.S. officials said some of the issues raised were purely operational and not unusual — were the agencies ready to handle a surge, though they said DHS had not itself seen evidence of a surge.
“The fact remains: the United States continues to enforce immigration law, and migrants should use safe, lawful, and orderly pathways to come to the United States,” a Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson told NBC.
“Migrants should not believe the lies of smugglers,” the spokesperson added.
Migrants themselves saw matters differently though, NBC reported.
“Immigrants began to talk on WhatsApp, a common channel for smugglers to advertise their services to people in Central and South America looking to come to the United States. A common theme emerged among multiple users: The time to come to the U.S. is now,” NBC wrote.
One WhatsApp user fretted that “after the 21 of January he’ll close the borders with extreme security.”
“You have until January to enter,” one person declared.
Another WhatsApp user worried that “there’s not a lot of [time] left. He has the decrees already in his mind.”
According to NBC, a shelter operator in Tijuana, Mexico, said he expects smuggling cartels and their coyotes to be pressuring immigrants to start crossing now.
“My sister is still in Mexico. I couldn’t sleep thinking of her,” another WhatsApp user stated.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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