Hundreds of immigrants awaiting deportation have been allowed to go free due to problems with the budget. Officials are also cutting back on the hours of border patrol agents and staff at all border crossings.
This is taking place during the peak border-crossing season, when the most undocumented immigrants cross into the U.S. from Mexico.
The cutbacks have been prompted by the budget woes in the U.S., but the changes are also part of the shift in immigration policy following years of huge arrests and then deportations and billions of dollars being spent on security at the borders.
The increase could be due to several factors including undocumented immigrants motivated by the improving economy in the U.S. or those that are hoping the U.S. Congress will take action to create a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
The latest cuts come as U.S. lawmakers struggle to complete a comprehensive reform on immigration whose success might ultimately be linked to questions over the security of the country’s borders.
Senator John McCain on Wednesday led a group of senators through a tour of the U.S/Mexico border and said the bipartisan group was nearing completion of an immigration reform deal, but continued tying the agreement to keeping illegal immigration in check along the borders.
Next week the group promised that more details would be forthcoming. McCain insisted he had no doubt that the borders were less secure today due to recent budget cuts.
