Axios claimed Tuesday conservatives are misleading Americans on the border and that it is “more fortified than it has ever been.”
“By using the term ‘open border,’ conservatives are suggesting that anyone can get into the U.S. without much hassle. But the reality is the southern border is more fortified than it’s ever been,” Axios tweeted.
The tweet also called the claim of there being an “open border” a “myth.”
By using the term “open border,” conservatives are suggesting that anyone can get into the U.S. without much hassle. But the reality is the southern border is more fortified than it’s ever been.
Axios Explains: The myth of a U.S.-Mexico “open border”
https://t.co/JXgQs4R7M2— Axios (@axios) October 17, 2023
The article annexed to the tweet concedes immediately the Biden administration is grappling with a “soaring number of migrants and asylum-seekers” but then argued the term “open border” suggests people can enter the nation “without much hassle.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Migrants Are Ditching Biden DHS’ Legal Entry Phone App, Crossing Border Illegally Instead)
To back up their claim, Axios cites an increase in border patrol agents from 1992 (at less than 5,000) to present day (nearly 20,000).
The outlet then says border walls and fences have been erected but failed to mention the Justice Department threatened the State of Texas with legal action if floating barriers weren’t removed. The Biden Administration also claimed use of razor wire to deter migrants was illegal.
The article also cites the Biden administration’s decision to continue building the border wall but fails to mention the decision was apparently made because of the untenable situation.
Axios then briefly touched on the “history of the border,” saying there was a time when passage between the U.S. and Mexico border was easy. However, “the rise of the Ku Klux Klan … resulted in the passage of several immigration restrictions.”
“The Border Patrol was created to keep out Chinese migrants coming in from Mexico,” the article stated.
The article then says the border became “more militarized” with a “clampdown” occurring under the Clinton administration and after 9/11.
“But, but, but: Migrants continued to try to enter the U.S. without permission in the absence of a timely legal path. Many died risking their lives by traveling through the arid Arizona desert, where high temperatures reach triple digits.”
The article also alleges Republicans have alluded to “open borders” but have “little evidence.”
Border Patrol saw more than 2.3 million encounters of illegal migrants in fiscal year 2022. ICE arrested 46,396 illegal alien criminals that same year. There have been more than 1.8 million encounters of illegal migrants between October 2022 and August of 2023, federal data shows.