As Texas' Border Security Efforts Succeed, California is ‘New Epicenter' of Crisis
In fiscal 2023, there were more than 500,000 illegal border crossers in California, The Center Square exclusively reported; up from nearly 300,000 in fiscal 2022.
In fiscal 2023, San Diego Sector agents reported the fifth-highest number of illegal entries along the southwest border, apprehending 230,941 illegal foreign nationals and reporting at least 97,520 gotaways, The Center Square reported.
By comparison, more than 775,000 people were reported illegally crossing the border into Arizona and over 1.9 million into Texas in fiscal 2023.
Border Patrol agents were directed to drop off 30,000 illegal border crossers in the last two months alone in San Diego County, Desmond said.
Because California Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t taken the same approach as Texas, “Human smugglers have identified California, particularly the San Diego border sector, as the path of least resistance for illegal immigration,” Desmond said. “Border Patrol has inadvertently become the ‘Uber’ for migrants entering San Diego County, and the County is the travel agent.”
Cartels have long had operational control of the border, with the Sinaloa Cartel controlling access into California and dominating the illicit fentanyl industry, law enforcement officials have explained to The Center Square. Those cracking down on cartel-linked crime can trace the fentanyl they seize to operations in California. In one recent undercover operation in Polk County, Florida, the amount of fentanyl seized was enough to kill one-third of Florida’s population. The alleged drug traffickers were arrested in Florida after having driven from California; the fentanyl was illegally brought into California from Mexico and tied to the Sinaloa Cartel, authorities said.
This month, in a two-week period, CBP San Diego Sector officers seized enough fentanyl to kill 54 million people, enough to wipe out the entire west coast, The Center Square reported.
Earlier this month, San Diego leaders called on state and federal authorities to close the border. They held a news conference on the beach in Carlsbad, near where illegal border crossers drove boats onto the beach. Groups of what appear to be single military age men jumped out of the boats and ran into the local neighborhoods in broad daylight, OKC Fox News 25 reported.
“Since 2020, we’ve seen a 139% increase in maritime human smuggling,” Desmond said, with three to four boats arriving a week. None of them are vetted. Authorities have no idea who they are, where they came from, or where they are.
California policies are facilitating the crisis, he added. “The state of California gives free health care to illegal immigrants. The County of San Diego gives free legal defense to those here illegally no matter what crime they commit. Being a sanctuary state, law enforcement officers are not allowed to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. So even if these people were arrested by the Carlsbad Police Department they could not turn these people over to ICE or Border Patrol.
“We’re seeing the fact that other states have made major increases in the amount of security along the border,” he said, indicating that illegal border crossing activity “has switched over to San Diego.”
Bethany Blankley is a contributor at The Center Square. The article was originally published in The Center Square.
