Terrell County, Texas, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland issued a new warning over the U.S.-Mexico border in the coming months.
"We're gonna be paying for what's happened in this last three years," Cleveland said on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria. "And unfortunately, I'll be honest, I think we got another nine months of this administration allowing this to happen before we can see any sort of resolution here at the border."
The Context:
Over the past several months, President Joe Biden's administration has been repeatedly criticized for its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has shown an increase in illegal migrant encounters at the nation's Southwest land borders in 2023 when compared to previous years. In December 2023, there were over 370,000 illegal migrant encounters, while December 2020 had 92,746 encounters, the data shows.
Newsweek reached out to the Terrell County Sheriff's office via email for further comment.
What We Know:
Biden has called on Congress to pass a bipartisan border security deal, but it failed to pass as Republicans called for increased border protection. House Speaker Mike Johnson initially said the border deal was "dead on arrival" in the House, prompting criticism from Biden who said: "MAGA Republicans said no because they're afraid of Donald Trump."
Over the weekend, Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant, was arrested in connection with the death of Laken Riley in Georgia, prompting calls for Biden to take further action on the border.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead in a wooded area near the school's campus, prompting the arrest of Ibarra who was charged with malice murder, aggravated battery, felony murder and other charges.
Views:
"The blood of Laken Riley is on the hands of Joe Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the government of Athens-Clarke County," Georgia Republican Representative Mike Collins wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "The Venezuelan suspect in Laken Riley's murder is one of millions of illegal aliens that the Biden administration has released into this country to be welcomed with open arms by Democrat-run sanctuary jurisdictions. This man had no business being in America, much less the UGA community to brutally murder this young American while she was on a run."
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also criticized Biden's handling of the border, saying: "Joe Biden's failed policies have turned every state into a border state, and I'm demanding information from him so we can protect our people when the federal government won't!"
What's Next:
Biden has continued to call on Congress to pass a border security deal, previously saying that he did all he could to secure the border.
The comments by Terrell County Sheriff Cleveland suggest that if Biden loses the 2024 presidential election, a Republican candidate, such as former President Trump, could fix the current situation at the border. However, it is unclear how the border will be handled if Biden wins the election in November.
Update 2/26/24, 9:33 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to the Terrell County Sheriff's office for comment.
Update 2/26/24, 10:00 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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