This Issue: States fight back against Biden's lax approach to enforcement

The Washington Post is reporting that border apprehensions in March could exceed 170,000. That would represent close to a 20% increase over the peak of the 2019 surge when border apprehensions hit 144,000 in May.

While the Biden Administration continues to downplay the ongoing crisis (with an assist from the mainstream media that's largely ignoring it), a few states have begun to take matters into their own hands.

Earlier this week, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R) signed legislation into law that takes steps to block sanctuary cities in the Treasure State. The new law will require local jurisdictions to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement efforts, and those that refuse could face civil action from the state attorney general.

While Montana is far from the Southern border, a new eyewitness report from Center for Immigration Studies fellow Todd Bensman details how the Biden Administration is quickly processing illegal border crossers and then loading them onto buses that are traveling all across the country.

"The buses rolling in a steady daily succession out of Del Rio -- one charter a day, seven days a week, and before that weeks of filling Greyhound buses -- represent a microcosm of a much broader aspect of the unfolding mass-migration crisis at the southern border that has attracted limited media coverage and occurs largely outside public view. Tens of thousands of immigrants caught illegally crossing the border and then released under the new leniency policy of President Joe Biden are now dispersing to four corners of the United States on buses..."

Bensman reports that a number of buses are heading to cities in Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis also took action this week. DeSantis ordered all state agencies to notify local law enforcement each time a criminal alien is released under the Biden Administration's order halting most deportations and releasing those who are in detention.

In Texas, which is ground zero for the border crisis, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) implemented Operation Lone Start to help combat the surge. He's authorized the Department of Public Safety to assist the Border Patrol in their efforts to detain illegal border crossers and confiscate drugs coming across the border.

"I want to thank the men and women of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the National Guard, and U.S. Border Patrol for putting their lives on the line every day to secure the border, arrest dangerous criminals, and protect the victims of trafficking and smuggling. It is past time for the federal government to step up and secure the border, and I am urging the Biden Administration to take action now to save lives and get this crisis under control."

However, with the exception of a few Republicans and border state Democrats, Congress is largely ignoring the crisis. While some Members of Congress have visited the border region, there hasn't been any discussion to address the root causes of the surge or to provide additional resources to immigration enforcement efforts.

We've posted new messages on your Action Board for each of your Members of Congress, urging them to take the necessary actions, including closing the asylum loopholes and providing additional funding for enforcement.

CHRIS Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director