Migrant encounters at the southern border hit the highest ever number for October last month, with more than 240,000 people encountered, officials announced on Tuesday — despite a slight decrease in numbers from September.
There were 240,988 encounters at the border in October, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said. That’s higher than the 231,529 recorded in October last year and the 164,837 encountered in 2021. In Oct 2020, there were just 71,929 encounters.
The number is down from the 269,735 encounters in September, which marked the highest monthly total ever. FY 23 saw a record 2.4 million encounters overall.
STATE AGS URGE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO EXPEDITE BILL GIVING STATES POWER TO TACKLE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
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Migrants cross the Rio Grande at the US-Mexico border in Piedras Negras, Coahuila state, Mexico, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The latest numbers show that, despite a broad strategy in place from the Biden administration after the end of Title 42 in May that it says combines “consequences” for illegal entry with expanded lawful pathways, numbers remain stubbornly high.
In a release, CBP said it remains “steadfast” in enforcing immigration laws, including with new technology and resources, as well as greater use of authorities like Expedited Removal and an asylum rule which limits asylum claims for those who have crossed illegally. The administration also started deportation flights directly to Venezuela last month, a move it says is already having an effect.
“In conjunction with our resumption of removal flights to Venezuela consistent with delivering consequences for those who cross the border unlawfully, CBP saw a 65 percent decrease in southwest border encounters of Venezuelans in the second half of October, compared to the second half of September,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement.
He also pointed to a 14% decrease in illegal entries between ports of entry between September and October, and an overall decrease in family units.
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GOP LAWMAKER SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘DANGEROUS’ THREAT TO US COMING FROM POROUS BORDER, AND IT’S NOT FROM MEXICO
Republicans have blamed the ongoing migrant crisis on the Biden administration’s border policies — particularly its rolling back of Trump-era border wall construction, a greater use of humanitarian parole and a reduction of interior enforcement. The Biden administration has said it needs comprehensive immigration reform and more funding to fix a “broken” system. Most recently the White House requested $14 billion for border operations.
“The President’s supplemental budget request is critical to funding the frontline, and would provide much-needed personnel, resources, and technology to go after transnational criminal organizations, enhance border security – including the enforcement of consequences for those who break the law – and support state and local partners, all to keep Americans safe,” Miller said.
The call for more funding and immigration reform is one that Republicans have dismissed. In an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green called it “the biggest lie I have ever heard.”
“The resources were the same in the previous administration. The dollars were the same, and the immigration laws were the same. The problem is that they broke the system by undoing the policies that had been implemented by the previous administration,” he said, pointing to the rollback of policies like the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). “So it is a big lie to say they need more resources or that immigration laws need to be fixed–they’re not even following the immigration laws that are in place right now, so why would Congress just pass more law if they’re not going to follow it anyway? So that is a fallacy, it is a talking point so that they can continue their open border.”
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In terms of the greater use of parole by the administration, the agency says that 44,000 migrants were paroled into the U.S. in October using the CBP One app, which allows migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry. There have been nearly 324,000 appointments scheduled on the app since January.
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Meanwhile, there were 13 Border Patrol arrests of people on the terror watchlist in October, 12 at the southern border and one at the northern border.
The numbers come a day after Republicans in the House failed in an attempt to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats in voting to table the measure to impeach the secretary for his handling of the border crisis.
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Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.
AUSTIN — For the first time in modern Texas politics, Democrats will field candidates in every one of the state’s 150 House districts.
It’s a milestone party leaders hope will boost turnout, money and organization up and down the ballot, even as Gov. Greg Abbott enters the cycle with a well-tested ground game of his own.
Democratic leaders say the move is less about flipping deeply red districts and more about expanding the electorate and forcing Republicans to defend territory they have long taken for granted.
Houston Rep. Christina Morales, the new chief of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, said a full slate of candidates creates infrastructure that can benefit statewide races, regardless of the odds in individual districts.
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Campaigns that once existed only on paper now bring door-knocking, phone banking and voter registration efforts, she said.
Morales also is coordinating with national Democrats, trying to harness energy from Texas’ high-profile Senate race, marked by a bitter GOP feud.
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In that primary, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn faces Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston.
The Democratic Senate contest, featuring state Rep. James Talarico of Austin and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, has drawn wide voter interest and donor support.
But attention and money only go so far.
Abbott enters the cycle with a major advantage: a mature, statewide voter-mobilization network built over decades of Republican control.
“Abbott has made it his own,” said longtime GOP strategist Thomas Graham, citing sustained relationship-building at the precinct level and focus on local concerns. “Democrats are still rebuilding a statewide party. The ground game heavily favors the governor.”
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 13 Alabama men’s basketball might have a bit of a problem.
The Crimson Tide was upset by Texas at home on Saturday night, and the 92-88 loss was riddled with negatives. Alabama came into this one with a road loss to undefeated Vanderbilt, and this should’ve been a game to shake it off.
But Alabama was down by double digits to Texas on numerous occasions throughout the contest. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said during the postgame press conference that defensive assistant Brian Adams “does a really good job putting good game plans together,” but “guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow” those game plans.
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“It starts with effort,” Oats said. “The want-to, competitive edge, guys just don’t want to lose, give you everything they got. The guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now, because they’re not giving us everything they got on that side of the floor.
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“So, I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose. From there, it goes to guys, like in the moment, having some personal pride in stopping their man. Too many blow-bys, too many isolation plays, just beat one-on-one, guy’s not locked down on the help side, a guy gets beat…I do think we’ve got some guys that care enough about winning on the defensive end, but you’ve also got to score the ball on offense, too.
“So we’re going to have to figure out the right lineups to play that care enough, compete enough, are tired of losing, got enough personal pride in their defense and they care enough to prepare. … Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take until it bothers them, but it bothers me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”
Another way to ensure winning is by converting at the free throw line. Alabama looked the part in the first half, as it hit 11 of its 12 attempts from the charity stripe. But in the second half, in part due to the defense, the Crimson Tide continued to fall behind, and it led to UA converting just eight of its 15 attempts in the latter 20 minutes.
“When you’re locked in, you’re locked in,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in on defense, all you care about is winning the game. When you’re locked into the defense and you go to the line, and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’ll step up and you’ll make your free throws.
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“When you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction, worried about stats and some other stuff, and you’re not locked in, that’s when you go to the line and miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter, guys that should be making free throws at a high level. And the pressure got them a little bit in the second half, we got down 13.
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“I mean, we do a free-throw game. It took us four tries to get it the way I wanted it yesterday. Guys have got to care enough to get in the gym and work on their free throws. So, free throws are the only thing in the game of basketball that has no variation to it ever, except for a variation you put in your own mind. Well, get enough reps up, you train your mind and basically become a machine at the free-throw line. Obviously, we’re not putting enough reps up right now.”
Alabama freshman forward London Jemison said after the game that the team needs to be “more connected” during games, practices, film and even when focusing on nutrition.
Oats provided an outline for the defense to gel more, the free throws to fall through the basket and a stronger connection to be enforced. And it’s quite a simple solution.
“It looks like we need some leadership to step up,” Oats said. “Some guys that want to get everybody together, tired of losing, stuff’s got to change. It’s not a talent problem. It’s a focus, effort and competitive juice problem. So, if they’re not as connected, that falls on the leadership of the team.
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“And we’ve told these guys, ‘We’re here to help you. This is your team, your season. I’ll be coaching for a long time after this. They get one opportunity with this group to put it together. That’s it.’ So, if they love their brothers and they want their teammates to perform well, they’re going to give a lot better effort on the floor than what they’re doing. Maybe they’re not as connected.
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“To me, it seems like we don’t have any bad guys. Like, there’s nobody that everybody just doesn’t like. They seem to like each other, but they obviously don’t respect their teammates enough to give a winning effort out there. Some of the guys are really bought into winning, but not everybody. So we’ve got to get everybody bought into winning.”
Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) aims for a resurgence against Mississippi State (10-6, 2-1 SEC) on the road on Tuesday night.
KNOXVILLE, TN – January 16, 2025 – “We Back Pat” on jersey during the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols basketball is back in Knoxville for a matchup with Arkansas after a two-game road stand. Tennessee is not only looking to stay perfect in SEC play, but is hosting its annual ‘We Back Pat’ game.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.
More From RTI: Everything Lady Vols HC Kim Caldwell, PG Mia Pauldo Said After Road Win At Mississippi State
How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (11-3, 3-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas (11-7, 0-3 SEC)
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Food City Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Andy Brock, Analyst: Kamera Harris
Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Brian Rice, Studio Host: Jay Lifford
Betting Odds
None listed yet
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols – 98.3%
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Arkansas – 1.7%
What Kim Caldwell Said After Mississippi State
“Good to get a win on the road. We know it’s a tough environment and we know that we got to win on the road in the SEC. It was good to do that. I wasn’t really proud of the rebounding, but I thought we looked a lot better in a couple different categories so that was good.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
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at Mississippi State, 90-90 W
at Auburn, 73-56 W
vs. Florida, 76-65 W
vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
vs. Louisville (Brooklyn), 89-65 L
Arkansas:
vs. South Carolina, 93-58 L
at Alabama, 77-48 L
vs. Vanderbilt, 88-71 L
vs. Arkansas State, 81-72 L
vs. Stephen F. Austin, 82-73 W
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – No. 20
Coaches Poll – No. 22
Bart Torvik – No. 13
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Arkansas:
AP Poll – Unranked
Coaches Poll – Unranked
Bart Torvik – No. 107
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Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.3
Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.3
Arkansas:
Points: Taleyah Jones – 16.9
Rebounds: Bonnie Deas – 9.7
Assists: Bonnie Deas – 2.6
Prediction
It’s been a rough start for Arkansas’ new coach, Kelsi Musick. The team is 0-3 in SEC games, and though it’s been against three good teams, the Razorbacks haven’t been competitive in any.
While neither side has been strong, Arkansas’ defense has been the weakest point. Not only is it coming off a game in which it gave up 93 points to South Carolina, but Arkansas State hung 81 in its win over the Razorbacks on the road.
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If the Lady Vols don’t get in their own way, then they should be fine. It hasn’t been perfect, and against three teams not necessarily in the mix to win the league, but Tennessee has looked much improved in the SEC slate compared to the lumps it took in the out-of-conference schedule.
I’d think UT jumps on Arkansas in the first quarter and takes a comfortable lead into the second quarter. From there, the lead should continue to grow behind forced turnovers in the press and easy baskets on the other end.
