[12] The migrants, who are mostly of Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, and Venezuelan citizenship, are reported to be escaping economic hardship, gang violence and environmental disaster in their home countries (particularly acute in Guatemala and Honduras) to seek asylum in the US.

[14] The agents of the US Border Patrol (USBP), a federal law enforcement agency, are tasked with deterring, detecting, and apprehending any person crossing into the US illegally at any point not designated as a port of entry by the US attorney general.

In a recent interaction between WOLA and Border Patrol officials, the agency claims to have found 640 deceased migrants between October 2022 and August 2023.

Academics claimed the immigration crisis was a result of US interventions in Central America during the Cold War, with high amounts of political instability, violent crime, and poverty stemming from the US's support of authoritarian regimes.

Negotiated by a bipartisan group of eight senators, fourteen Republicans joined all Democrats in voting for the measure; President Obama promised to sign it.

While it was known for its stringent enforcement of immigration laws, resulting in the deportation of a significant number of migrants, the establishment of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) stands out.

[23] The Trump administration asked migrants to take a number at the border and to wait until they are called for a chance to have their asylum cases heard.

Mark A. Morgan, acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), stated the ruling was set to take effect on the week of October 8, 2019.

[25] In several places, dangers including kidnapping, murder, and sexual assault threatened thousands of Central American migrants who had been clustered in Mexican border cities like Matamoros, Tamaulipas, for months, blocked from seeking asylum in the US because of new restriction policies.

The US government and United Nations provided free transportation to return refugees to their homes in Central America, but many others who were stuck in Matamoros said that desperation had led them to consider treacherous and potentially life-threatening methods of illegal entry—crossing the river, climbing into tractor-trailers driven by human smugglers, or both.

[26] In March 2020, Trump instituted Title 42, which allowed U.S. authorities to swiftly expel migrants, including asylum seekers, at the border.

[28][29] On his first day in office, Biden halted the construction of the Mexico–United States border wall, ending the national emergency declared by the Trump administration in February 2019.

According to a 2021 Politico report, Republicans expected prior to Joe Biden taking office that there would be a border surge at the start of 2021 (due to seasonal patterns and regional crises) and planned to make it a central issue in the leadup to the 2022 midterm elections.

A few months later, the US Customs and Border Patrol reported that various colored bracelets with writing on them being used as a method to track a migrant's payment status to their coyote and drug cartels that control various parts of Mexico.

[38] On March 24, 2021, Biden asked Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Mexico and Northern Triangle nations to curb the current flow of migrants to the border and develop a long-term solution.

[39][40] In June 2021, Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico in an attempt to address the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States.

[41] During her visit, in a joint press conference with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, Harris issued an appeal to potential migrants, stating "I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border: Do not come.

[9][50] In fiscal year 2023, CBP figures showed that 169 people on the United States’ terrorist watch list were arrested at the border, compared to 98 in 2022 and 15 in 2021.

[55] Following the end of Title 42, illegal crossings temporarily decreased, partly due to the Biden administration creating more legal pathways in its place.

[60] On January 17, 2024, a non-binding resolution denouncing the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the U.S. southern border passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 225–187, with all Republicans and 14 Democrats supporting it.

[61][62][63] Many Republicans and conservative commentators alleged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas committed "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" as justification for impeachment.

Constitutional scholars, Democrats, and some conservatives asserted Republicans were improperly using impeachment to address immigration policy disputes rather than for high crimes and misdemeanors, of which there was no evidence.

[74] By the end of June 2024, illegal crossings reached a three-year low following four consecutive monthly drops, which senior U.S. officials attributed to increased enforcement between the United States and Mexico and the weather, as well as the effects of Biden's executive order.

[12][76] On July 25, 2024, the United States House of Representatives voted 220–196 to pass another resolution condemning the Biden-Harris administration for their handling of the U.S. southern border.

The data goes back decades; it includes people who entered the country over the past 40 year or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this administration.

3602 "End The Border Catastrophe Act" was brought to the floor under a fast-track procedure known as suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

[88] Following months of negotiations, on February 4, 2024, a bipartisan group of senators released a 370-page bill intended to sharply reduce incentives for migrants to attempt border crossings.

Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans falsely claimed the bill allowed 5,000 illegal border crossings per day.

It aimed to provide a pathway to citizenship for "Documented Dreamers," children who accompanied their parents on a work visa and who could lose their place in line for a green card at age 21.

[91][92][93][94][95] Senate Republicans swiftly turned against the bill upon its release, after Trump openly said he did not want Joe Biden to score a political win with the legislation.