A CNN reporter was left stunned by the number of illegal immigrants in El Paso, as the Texas city and dozens of others across the country struggle to address record migration.
"It’s difficult to describe, Jim, with words ... the magnitude of the number of individuals," reporter Rosa Flores said from a church in El Paso, where Democratic mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency this week ahead of the May 11 end of Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allowed agents to turn migrants away at the border. Outside the church, CNN's camera captured dozens of migrants sitting on the sidewalk and street. The Biden administration is deploying troops to assist with administrative duties at the border when Title 42 ends.
"We are getting prepared now for what we call the unknown," said Leeser, who anticipates thousands of migrants to flood El Paso in the coming weeks.
The increased mainstream media coverage of the border crisis comes as more Democratic politicians speak out about the struggles in their cities.
New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) lashed out at Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) Tuesday for sending migrants to New York and other "black-run cities."
"This weekend, we learned that Governor Abbott is once again deciding to play politics with people's lives by resuming the busing of asylum seekers to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, and Washington, D.C.," Adams said Monday. "It is also impossible to ignore the fact that Abbott is now targeting five cities run by Black mayors. Put plainly, Abbott is using this crisis to hurt Black-run cities."
Lori Lightfoot (D.), the outgoing mayor of Chicago, said her city is "tapped out" of resources for migrants.
Despite the comments, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre falsely said Monday that illegal immigration has decreased "by more than 90 percent." Her comments mirror similar declarations of confidence in border security from President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Illegal immigration actually hit a record high in 2022 of 2.76 million encounters.