Officials report a significant drop in migrant apprehensions at Eagle Pass, Texas, on the US-Mexico border, decreasing from thousands to approximately 500 this week. This decline follows talks between Mexico and the US in Mexico City, resulting in a drop in overall migrant encounters on the southern border from over 10,000 per day in mid-December to around 3,000 per day in January. The Department of Homeland Security credits Mexico’s intensified enforcement actions, including checks on trains and buses, the relocation of migrants within Mexico, and the resumption of deportations of Venezuelans.
However, tensions persist between state and federal authorities, with Texas impeding the US Border Patrol’s access to stretches of the border. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, emphasizes the state’s aggressive measures to curtail migration, while the Biden administration urges Supreme Court intervention in response to new barriers erected by Texas authorities, asserting the federal government’s need for swift action.