700+ migrants cross into Texas in 1 day; Rep says Guatemala pres offered to help but Biden 'won't even call'
As migrants continue to cross into the U.S., Rep. Tony Gonzales says Guatemala would take people back if President Biden asked
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}More than 700 migrants were spotted by Fox News crossing the southern border into the U.S. from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Sunday, amid an ongoing border crisis that is showing no signs of stopping.
Cameras recorded footage of large groups, including one group of 290 people, mostly single adults. They joined more than what a source told Fox News was 2,000 migrants who had crossed in the Del Rio sector, where Eagle Pass is located, on Friday and Saturday.
Just days earlier, Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei offered to help if President Biden would only ask.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I specifically asked the president of Guatemala, ‘Hey, what would it take in order for you to take more of these repatriation flights?'" Gonzales told host Guy Benson on Fox News Radio. "These are people that do not qualify for asylum, you send them back to their country of origin. What would it take for you to take more of those flights? His answer was: ‘One simple thing, Tony. I just need the president of the United States to call me. He won’t even call me.’"
MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER SMASH NUMBERS SENT TO NYC AND DC
In December, Giammattei told Fox News that he had had no contact with the White House since he met with Vice President Kamala Harris in June of that year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A White House official said in a statement to Fox News that the administration has a "strong cooperation with Guatemala" when it comes to repatriation.
"In fact," the official said, "President Biden in June brought 20 world leaders together for the first time ever to take collective responsibility to manage migration flows across the Western Hemisphere, including through repatriations."
Since March, there have been more than 200,000 migrant encounters at the border a month, and there haven’t been fewer than 150,000 migrant encounters in any month since February 2021. While some of those are returned under Title 42 public health protections, many are released into the United States in places like Arizona and Texas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Overall there have been more than 1.7 million migrant encounters at the border this fiscal year, exceeding last year’s historic numbers.
Border states have started taking matters into their own hands. The governors of Texas and Arizona have bussed migrants to Washington, D.C., and Texas has also sent a number of people to New York City as well.
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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office has reportedly said that it has sent more than 1,000 migrants to D.C., with Texas having already sent 6,000. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently started sending migrants to New York as well, prompting New York City Mayor Eric Adams to call for federal and state assistance.
"The federal government and the state should assist in this as well because it's more than housing… housing, education, food, translation, services, health care, all of these issues," Adams said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Bill Melugin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.