Undocumented Immigrants Surging to US-Mexico Border in Race Against Election Day William La Jeunesse - Fox News
go to original November 6, 2016

There's been a surge of people trying to cross the Mexican border, into the US, as the November 8 vote approaches. (Al Jazeera English)

Americans aren’t the only ones motivated by Tuesday’s election. The presidential race has immigrants from around the world racing to the U.S.-Mexican border, as the cartels exploit a powerful narrative: get into the U.S. while you still can.

“Smugglers are telling them that they need to come across now while there’s a chance,” said Art Del Cueto, a Border Patrol agent in Tucson, Ariz., whose views were echoed by another agent in Texas.

“People think if one candidate wins, certain things will happen, like a giant wall being built and then they can never get through,” said Chris Cabrera, an agent in the Rio Grande Valley. “Another faction believes that if the other candidate wins, they’ll get amnesty if they’re here by a certain date.”

Those two competing narratives – triggered by the rhetoric of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, respectively - are driving immigration numbers the Border Patrol hasn’t seen in years in some sectors.

“We are overwhelmed,” said a veteran agent in McAllen, Texas. “We are seeing 800 to 1,000 apprehensions every night.”

In fiscal 2016, the Border Patrol apprehended 117,200 immigrants from Central America, almost one-third of all apprehensions border-wide -- and 5,000 more than during the so-called surge of 2014. The agency also apprehended 5,000 Haitians, up from just 700 last year. The number of immigrants claiming to be from Africa and Asia also is up.

"There are always going to be push and pull factors that influence an individual’s decision to make that trek," said Tucson Border Patrol Sector Chief Paul Beeson.

Read the rest at Fox News

Related: The US-Mexico Border Is Not a Hellscape: Debunking the Trump Campaign’s Founding Myth (Vox)

Related: Attorneys in Tijuana Help Those Desperate to Enter U.S. (HeraldNet)

Related: Illegals at US Borders: Human Traffickers Play Major Role (The Standard)

Related: Donald Trump’s Mexico Border Wall: Experts Reveal Blueprint for 2000-Mile Fortress (Daily Star)

Related: How Amnesty Gave a 100-Year-Old Woman a New Life in the US (KERA News)

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