Migrants mass-released in San Diego as Newsom heads to White House

Fox News cameras were on the ground in the San Diego Sector on Friday and captured a mass-release of migrants by Border Patrol as they deal with a surge in numbers in the busy border sector just as California Gov. Gavin Newsom will meet President Biden at the White House.

The Border Patrol bus released approximately 200 migrants onto the streets in San Ysidro, where they were then handed over to a non-governmental organization for help. From there, they will move on to their final destination. Fox was told that the private bus would take them to the local airport.

Migrants included people from India, Senegal, China, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Their final destinations included Atlanta, New York, Chicago and New Jersey. Cities and states across the country have been overwhelmed by the surge in migrants, and their leaders have appealed to the federal government for additional help.

BIDEN ADMIN WEIGHS EXECUTIVE ACTION ON BORDER CRISIS, DRAWING FIRE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT

Migrants are mass released into San Diego on Feb. 23, 2024. (Fox News)

The release comes hours before Gov. Newsom is one of a number of governors due to meet with President Biden at the White House, where the ongoing and historic migrant crisis will likely be on the agenda. Polling has shown that Biden faces an abysmal approval rating on the border crisis.

A spokesperson for Newsom's office told Fox News Digital that "[w]hen it comes to border security, Republicans in Congress have done nothing but create chaos and sabotage any attempts at progress."

"In the absence of any political courage from the Republican Party, California has once again stepped up — making historic investments and serving as a model of partnership for a safe and humane border. It’s past time for the spineless politicians in Congress to do their job," they said.

7.2M ENTERED THE US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES 

The White House and Democrats have called on Republicans to back a bipartisan Senate bill that would have increased staffing and resources at the border while limiting the ability of migrants to claim asylum and providing additional funding to communities and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) receiving migrants. However, conservatives have said the bill does not go far enough and would normalize high levels of illegal immigration. They argue instead that President Biden can change policies they blame for the surge to solve the now three-year crisis at the border. 

Migrants are encountered by Border Patrol in the San Diego Sector on Feb. 17, 2024. (Fox News)

Biden has reportedly been considering taking executive action, but administration officials have stressed that no final decisions on what actions, if any, could be taken.

When asked about reports of the plans this week, the White House told Fox News Digital that the administration "spent months negotiating in good faith to deliver the toughest and fairest bipartisan border security bill in decades because we need Congress to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system."

"Congressional Republicans chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, rejected what border agents have said they need, and then gave themselves a two-week vacation," spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said. "No executive action, no matter how aggressive, can deliver the significant policy reforms and additional resources Congress can provide and that Republicans rejected. We continue to call on Speaker [Mike] Johnson and House Republicans to pass the bipartisan deal to secure the border. "

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the reports appeared to contradict prior administration claims that Biden had done everything to stop the crisis.

"Americans have lost faith in this president and won’t be fooled by election year gimmicks that don’t actually secure the border," he said. "Nor will they forget that the president created this catastrophe and, until now, has refused to use his executive authority to fix it."

There were over 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY 23, a new record. Records were shattered in December, when over 300,000 migrants were encountered – a new monthly high. Numbers have come down in January to below 200,000, but sectors like San Diego are seeing increased traffic, with the sector now seeing over 1,000 encounters a day and sometimes up to 1,500 a day.