As law enforcement is increasingly overwhelmed by the flood of immigrants coming across the U.S. southern border, a group of sheriffs are demanding increased security. The sheriffs’ demand came before Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cited an “acute and immediate need” to waive dozens of federal laws to build a border wall in south Texas on Wednesday.
The American Sheriff Alliance met in San Diego this week to discuss the continued pressure and strain on resources due to the lack of border enforcement throughout the United States, including the alarming statistics of encounters with individuals found to be on the Terrorist Watch List, also known as the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS).
The sheriffs argue that the “diversity of the countries of origin for migrant encounters is also concerning, particularly with those who have strained diplomatic relations with the U.S.”
The sheriffs claim that the driving forces behind the flood can be traced back to the lack of border security as well as the Sinaloa Cartel run by Ismael Zambada Garcia (“El Mayo”) and Jalisco New Generation Cartel run by Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes (“El Mencho”).
Along the southwest border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) TSDS encounters between ports of entry of non-U.S. citizens have continually risen over the past six years. The following are the number of TSDS encounters according to CBP: 2017 – 2 encounters, 2018 – 6 encounters, 2019 – 0 encounters, 2020 – 3 encounters, 2021 – 15 encounters, 2022 – 98 encounters, and 2023 YTD – 151 encounters, according to the sheriffs. Since 2021, this represents a 906% increase in TSDS encounters; there are still three months left in 2023.
In addition to these rates of TSDS encounters, other criminal statistics continue to rise.
The number of arrests of individuals with criminal convictions or those wanted by law enforcement by noncitizens has increased exponentially from 6,562 encounters in 2021 to 16,992 in 2022, and year to date in 2023, there have been 18,586 encounters, which marks a 183% increase since 2021 with again three months left this year.
The statistics for TSDS encounters and those with criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement reflect only those who have encountered authorities, according to the Alliance. It is unknown how many concerning individuals have entered the United States who have yet to be accounted for.
CBP reported that they have estimated a total of 600,000 got-a-ways this year, but there is no way of knowing the exact numbers. These alarming statistics are extremely concerning to the Alliance, and there are major homeland security concerns with these individuals especially, with the lack of information and vetting as to their intentions, criminal histories, or connections to U.S. adversaries worldwide.
“The pressure on law enforcement at the local level is unsustainable with the continued daily increases at the southern ports of entry,” Sheriff Leon Wilmot of Yuma County, Arizona and a Western States Sheriffs’ Association member stated. “With the sustained unrelenting flow of migrants coming from all over the world and the limited background checks and vetting process, it is concerning who is being released into the interior. The cartels are actively promoting the weak border policies through social media networks, and it is clear they have been, sadly, very successful in their mission.”
“When the number of people dying from drug poisonings is equivalent to a 737-airplane crashing each day, and the number of migrants that we are aware of coming across the border could fill the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans weekly, we have to sound the alarm,” said Sheriff Greg Champagne of St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, and President of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA). “If a plane crashed daily, there would be immediate action taken, and yet instead of seeing numbers decrease, we continue to set records for those who are dying from illicit narcotics mostly originating from the drug cartels in Mexico.”
“While we know that these pressures are affecting U.S. borders from all sides, the southern border is clearly the center of concern when we see migrants from countries across the world enter our country into the Southwest Border,” said Sheriff Eddie Guerra of Hidalgo County, Texas, and President of the Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition. “CBP has reported that migrant encounters at the southwest border cover 180 international countries – many who are adversaries with the United States, which should be concerning to every American citizen.”
Sheriff Tom Schmerber of Maverick County, Texas, and President of the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition noted, “While federal, state, and local law enforcement are doing everything they can to keep their local communities secure and ensure humane conditions for migrants who are truly seeking asylum, there is no doubt that the asylum system is being abused and the traditional avenues are overwhelmed to keep up requests forcing the release of these individuals without any accountability. El Mencho, El Mayo, and other troubling cartel criminals will continue to exploit these easy loopholes without action from our elected officials.”
The American Sheriff Alliance is encouraging elected officials at every level of government to speak out and draw attention to the need of making “proper reforms to these extreme challenges.”