Surge of Migrants at Southern Border Becoming Early Challenge for Biden Admin

U.S. Border Patrol apprehended nearly 100,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in February. The number of apprehensions, particularly of single adults and unaccompanied minors, have risen increasingly in the past ten months. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said this week that Border Patrol is "on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years." President Biden said Tuesday that he doesn't currently have plans to visit the southern border, and discouraged would-be migrants from traveling there. Recently pitched immigration bills, both from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, are currently being discussed in Congress. Outlets on all sides, particularly the left and center, have focused on the rising number of unaccompanied children at the border and public health concerns about their detainment. Some recent reports from right-rated outlets framed Democrats as divided on the issue, and highlighted DHS requests for increased National Guard assistance along the border. Right-rated media has focused on the surge more overall, often painting the Biden administration as hesitant to confront the issue.