Border crisis shows few signs of slowing as migrant encounters, fentanyl seizures stay high

The Biden administration has been facing a continuing crisis at the southern border after taking office in January, and so far there are few signs of it slowing down significantly – with the number of migrants and seizures of the deadly drug fentanyl continuing to rise.

The 180,034 May encounters is up massively from the 23,237 seen last year, and even higher than the 144,166 in May 2019 at the peak of that year’s border crisis. The Biden administration has noted that 112,302 mostly single adults were expelled via Title 42 public health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so the numbers of migrants making multiple efforts into the U.S. may have increased. However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has left open the possibility of ending Title 42 restrictions once the risk of the pandemic subsides – and is under pressure from the Democratic Party’s left flank to do so.