Trump Victory Has Biden Admin Bracing for Migrant Surge at Southern Border

The Biden administration is reportedly preparing for a potential migrant surge at the southern border ahead of a looming Trump administration amid concerns that migrants may seek to flood into the U.S. before President-elect Trump enacts strict border controls.

Numbers have dropped dramatically at the southern border since June after a more than three-year historic surge that overwhelmed officials and communities across the country. Trump’s presidential election victory on Tuesday brings the prospect of much tougher border measures and a mass deportation operation.

NBC News reports that on Monday, before the election, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas held a virtual meeting with top advisers and the heads of DHS agencies. In that meeting, officials raised concerns about what a Trump victory might mean for the border.

The report said that officials asked if DHS officials were prepared for a possible spike in immigration, with immigrants preparing to enter the country at the last minute.

Migrants would unlikely be motivated by the prospect of a Trump administration, where there have been promises of historic deportations and a crackdown on sanctuary cities, but would instead be motivated by an effort to take advantage of what may be lighter border security than what they believe will be in place under the Republican administration.

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“It’s going to be a rush to the border,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. “I’m sure Mexico has stepped out of the way [now] that the election is over, feeling their obligation to try and help Kamala Harris win the election is finished.”

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Ries said that any surge will be fueled by migrant smugglers looking for business.

“The cartels and the smugglers are spreading the word that now’s the time to get in before Trump enters,” she said. {snip}

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