Border Crisis
FBI Director Confirms Mexico Cartel is ‘Spilling Over’ to the US During Border Crisis
On Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that he is sure that activity from Mexico cartel is “spilling over” into the United States amid the border crisis. This comes as the country deals with a significant influx in migration.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) asked Wray during a House Judiciary Committee hearing whether the FBI knew of cases where foreigners crossing the border were deeply indebted to cartels and smugglers.
To this, Wray answered “certainly” and that they have already seen several instances.
The representative then asked whether those debts are paid via contract-bound servitude to such organizations.
To this, the FBI director stated that this is true in some cases. He added that his agency is in pursuit of several “human trafficking task forces” and taskforces with the Department of Homeland Security to try and solve this issue.
Wray then added that “there’s no question” cartel activity is somehow “spilling” into the country.
President Joe Biden’s administration currently faces the challenge of handling a massive surge in migration at the southern border. Just in the month of May, more than 180,000 encounters were recorded by the CBP.
Many Migrants Rely On Mexico Cartel Amid Border Crisis
Many of the migrants heading to the border approach cartels to smuggle themselves or their kids into the country. Usually, these people first stay at stash houses. They then head into the interior with the help of smugglers who have the know-how of navigating the border environment.
Although, officials have warned that such migrants have a debt to pay to smugglers, who usually charge extremely high fees to poor migrants. Also, gang members and convicted sex offenders have tried to take advantage of this migrant surge by trying to sneak in.
While this happens, smugglers keep on leaving unaccompanied kids at the border, with some of them as young as 3 years old. They’re leaving the kids for border agents to find and rescue. These smugglers are aware that officials would reunite the minors with their parents or relatives who are already in the U.S.
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