From video game chats, to social media, to meet-ups at nightclubs; human smuggling is not as far from your front door as you may think. Smuggling operations are using the crisis along the southern border to entice people from all walks life into risking their freedom for quick cash.

Data from Customs and Border Protection shows illegal border crossings have been going down since January.

Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to soon sign an immigration enforcement bill into law. Senate Bill 4 was passed by the state House and Senate during the legislature’s 4th special session.

Securing the land rights to build Texas’ portion of a border wall is proving to be a tedious and daunting process according to officials with the Texas Facilities Commission. The comments came during a Jan. 4 TFC meeting when another border wall construction contract was awarded.

While exact details are not yet finalized, KPRC 2 has learned Catholic Charities and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will partner to provide respite services for migrants being bused from the border to Houston.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn is among a contingent of Senators who filed a bill to prevent the ending of Title 42. The Public Health and Border Security Act calls for Title 42 to remain in place until 60 days “after ending the COVID-19 national emergency declaration.”

The number of encounters along our southern border has been increasing over the last three months. These increases come after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a record 1.7 million encounters along our southern border during the fiscal year 2021. Political division on this issue has prevented Congress from enacting long-term immigration reform.

After seeing modest decreases during late summer and early fall, the number of people either caught illegally crossing the United States’ southern border or deemed inadmissible to the country increased during the month of November. According to Customs and Border Protection, agents reported 173,620 encounters last month, a 5% increase from Oct and a 142% increase from the same month last year.

The elected Constables for Precincts 2 and 4 in Galveston County are helping another county’s sheriff’s office that is overwhelmed by the border crisis.

Several border leaders continue to call on President Joe Biden to pause the release of asylum-seeking migrants into the United States. These calls for help come as many border communities are struggling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US Department of Justice filed suit against the State of Texas and is asking for either a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to prevent the enforcement of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order restricting the travel of certain migrants.

The US Attorney General sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, urging him to rescind a recent executive order regarding restricting the travel of certain migrants.