蜜柚直播

S脕SABE, Ariz. 鈥� At a volunteer-run migrant-aid camp, about 22 miles east of the S谩sabe port of entry, the only action on this quiet Wednesday afternoon was the rustle of flags marking the humanitarian site and the sound of birds flitting among the trees.

A few dozen yards away, in Mexico, two reddish-brown cows were visible through the steel bollards of the U.S.-Mexico border wall as they grazed in the brush, strewn with discarded clothes, water bottles and baby diapers, left by migrants led to this remote area by human smugglers.

At this far-flung spot, more than 20 miles from the nearest Border Patrol station, the 30-foot-tall border wall abruptly changes to a low-lying vehicle barrier, before ending at a steep hill. The easy access to U.S. soil has made the spot a popular drop-off point for human smugglers transporting migrants, who in recent years have mostly sought to surrender to border agents, rather than trying to evade arrest.

Hundreds of asylum seekers arrived daily in the border area east of S谩sabe in late 2023, leading volunteers with groups such as the 蜜柚直播 Samaritans to establish a series of humanitarian-aid stations, offering life-saving water, food and shelter to exhausted migrants as they waited for hours or days 鈥� often in extreme heat or cold 鈥� for border agents to arrive.

But migrant arrivals across the entire southern border have plummeted since then, and on Wednesday afternoon, there was no sign of human activity on either side of the wall, aside from the handful of U.S. humanitarian volunteers checking on supplies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been quiet,鈥� said Gail Kocourek, a long-time volunteer with the 蜜柚直播 Samaritans. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing going on. The numbers had already dropped a lot under Biden.鈥�

The reality here is tough to square with the Trump administration鈥檚 Jan. 20 declaration of a 鈥渘ational emergency鈥� at the border, which Trump said, in an executive order, warrants a surge of U.S. Department of Defense resources.

鈥淎merica鈥檚 sovereignty is under attack,鈥� reads President Donald Trump鈥檚 national emergency . 鈥淥ur southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, including America.鈥�

Another executive order declared an 鈥渋nvasion鈥� at the border, an unprecedented move that shut down access to asylum protections in the U.S. A third order closes off legal pathways to humanitarian protection in the U.S., established under President Joe Biden to discourage people from entering the U.S. outside official ports of entry.

Fort Huachuca is now hosting 500 active-duty soldiers deployed from New York鈥檚 Fort Drum 鈥渢o support the effort to take operational control of the southern border,鈥� a Fort Drum press release said.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also agreed to send 10,000 more Mexican National Guard members to her country鈥檚 northern border, as part of an agreement to delay Trump鈥檚 threat of 25% tariffs on imports to the U.S. That includes 400 new Guard members now stationed in Nogales, Sonora, the city鈥檚 mayor said.

The surge of resources, considering current conditions at the border, is a 鈥渕ismatch,鈥� Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, associate policy analyst for the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said on Thursday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 odd to hear the words of 鈥榥ational emergency鈥� or 鈥榠nvasion鈥� applied to the current reality,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are seeing some of the lowest border encounters in decades, so the need to surge all of these resources and personnel to the border doesn鈥檛 entirely add up. What the military or National Guard can currently do in helping Border Patrol or Office of Field Operations (at ports of entry) is very unclear.鈥�

Republicans in Congress are also pushing for $175 billion in additional U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding for border enforcement, and for interior enforcement led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is running short on detention space needed to meet the Trump administration鈥檚 demand for deportations.

DHS鈥檚 current budget is just over $100 billion already, said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America, or WOLA.

鈥淭he upshot of it is, probably sometime in the next month, there鈥檚 going to be an historically enormous amount of money for DHS, and some of that is going to be for the border, but the bulk of it will be mass deportation,鈥� he said.

Outside U.S. ports of entry, the southern border is now fortified by 16,500 Border Patrol agents, an expected 3,600 active-duty military soldiers, 4,500 Texas National Guard and 2,200 National Guard already deployed under Biden, Isacson said. With just 29,000 migrant arrests recorded in January, that equates to about one migrant per law enforcement agent or soldier per month, he said.

Using the even lower daily migrant-arrival rate for the week of Feb. 13, that equates to about one migrant for every 100 soldiers or agents per day.

鈥淲hat are they all doing?鈥� Isacson said.

鈥淚nvasion鈥� declaration unwarranted, advocates say

Advocates allege that the 鈥渋nvasion鈥� declaration, invoked under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, is illegal and also threatens the lives and safety of thousands of would-be asylum seekers.

Even asylum seekers who legally entered the U.S. after presenting themselves at a port of entry are now subject to deportation without having their asylum claim heard.

The American Civil Liberties Union the Trump administration Feb. 3 on behalf of legal-services organizations that provide counsel to asylum seekers, including 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Florence Refugee Rights and Resettlement Project. The ACLU says the asylum shut-down endangers 鈥渃ountess lives.鈥�

鈥淣o president has the authority to unilaterally override the protections Congress has afforded those fleeing danger,鈥� said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU鈥檚 Immigrants鈥� Rights Project.

Isacson said legal challenges will likely result in the 鈥渋nvasion鈥� declaration being overturned, as there鈥檚 no justification for it.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think unorganized, leaderless kids and families and job-seekers with humanitarian needs are an invasion,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think most judges would agree with that. ... Once a judge does strike that down, I think even the Supreme Court won鈥檛 think there鈥檚 an invasion.鈥�

Since Trump took office, lawyers with the Florence Project haven鈥檛 met anyone detained at ICE鈥檚 Eloy or Florence facilities who were being processed for asylum claims, or more limited relief options, such as protection under the Conventions Against Torture 鈥� for those who prove they鈥檇 likely be tortured if returned home 鈥� or withholding of removal, said Roc铆o Casta帽eda Acosta, advocacy attorney with the nonprofit.

Even with the invasion declaration, those two options should still be available for those who meet the high threshold required, Putzel-Kavanaugh said, but it鈥檚 still not clear how Border Patrol is handling those cases.

More than 150 would-be asylum seekers attended a recent information session at Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Sonora, where Casta帽eda spoke. The atmosphere was 鈥渉eartbreaking,鈥� she said. Some attendees had been kidnapped and extorted in Mexico while waiting for an appointment through the Biden-era CBP One phone app, which allowed them to enter a U.S. port of entry to request asylum. The day he took office, Trump swiftly canceled all CBP One appointments, for which many had waited as long as a year.

鈥淭here was sadness, fear, hopelessness and a lot of worry about what do we do next. How do we even journey back?鈥� Casta帽eda said.

Already low migrant arrests drop further

On Wednesday morning at the S谩sabe migrant-aid camp, volunteers reported that a handful of asylum seekers had been picked up by Border Patrol agents around 8 a.m. 鈥� and likely faced a quick return to Mexico 鈥� but since then, it appeared no one else had arrived all day. The camp鈥檚 stone-lined fire pits were cold, and two white tents offering shade and a place for rest were empty.

Even before Trump took office, in December 蜜柚直播 Sector migrant arrests already had declined by 80% from December 2023, when record-high arrest figures ballooned amid a global increase in migration. Throughout 2024, the steep decline was due to both aggressive enforcement in Mexico, preventing migrants from reaching the border, and the Biden administration鈥檚 limits to asylum access, implemented in June 2024.

In the 蜜柚直播 Sector in January, border agents arrested 4,727 migrants between official ports of entry, about a 35% decrease compared to December 2024, according to the latest figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, which oversees Border Patrol.

Border-wide, agents arrested 29,000 migrants between ports of entry last month, compared to 47,300 in December, CBP data show.

The week of Feb. 13, Border Patrol arrests dropped to about 285 daily arrests border-wide, compared to 1,500 daily arrests in December, Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks told CBS 蜜柚直播.

Border Patrol鈥檚 蜜柚直播 Sector Chief Sean McGoffin told the Star in a Feb. 12 interview that in the previous week, agents had arrested just 460 people, or about 66 each day, and the numbers were continuing to decline.

The certainty of a quick removal, along with prosecutions to impose criminal consequences, are contributing to lower arrivals, said McGoffin, who moved from his role as Yuma Sector chief to replace outgoing 蜜柚直播 Chief John Modlin in November.

Fewer encounters with large groups of asylum seekers 鈥� which required agents to devote substantial resources to transporting and processing people 鈥� means agents can focus on their primary mission of apprehending those trying to evade detection, he said.

鈥淭he morale has gone up as a result of that, because they鈥檙e doing the job they signed up to do,鈥� he said.

McGoffin would not directly respond to the Star鈥檚 questions about whether he鈥檇 characterize the current situation at the border as an emergency or invasion.

鈥淚鈥檒l just tell you this: Any time you have a situation where you have a border, someone鈥檚 going to be engaged in smuggling,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have to have an absolute degree of certainty where nothing鈥檚 crossing the border. Until you have that you鈥檙e going to have a situation where we need to have a significant presence down there making sure that doesn鈥檛 happen.鈥�

The appearance of calm at the border isn鈥檛 what matters, he said.

鈥淭here are cartels on the other side of the border that are engaged in nefarious activity, whether it鈥檚 narcotics, whether it鈥檚 people, those things are still going on,鈥� he said. 鈥�... We have to make sure that we鈥檙e stopping it at all costs.鈥�

Isacson said it remains to be seen whether current low arrest figures will hold, or if migrants and human smugglers are taking a 鈥渨ait-and-see鈥� approach, as is common during times of leadership or policy changes.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got monthly data of Border Patrol apprehensions by month, going back to fiscal year 2000,鈥� Isacson said. 鈥淎nd the lowest months of the century were not during COVID; they were actually during the first few months of Trump鈥檚 first term.鈥�

After Trump took office in 2017, border agents arrested just 11,000 migrants that April before the numbers began to climb again, reaching 130,000 monthly arrests by the spring of 2019, Isacson said. Migrant arrivals slowed when the pandemic started, then rose again during the post-COVID economic recovery, Isacson said.

The U.S. economy and availability of jobs is still the biggest 鈥減ull鈥� factor for migrants, he said.

McGoffin didn鈥檛 have a clear answer on whether any asylum cases were still being processed for those who told border agents they feared return to their home country. A border agent present during the Star鈥檚 interview said Conventions Against Torture claims are being processed, but CBP has not yet responded to the Star鈥檚 efforts to confirm that.

McGoffin also suggested that asylum seekers should simply go to a port of entry, as has Trump鈥檚 鈥渂order czar鈥� Tom Homan, without acknowledging that Trump鈥檚 executive orders, and the cancelation of the CBP One application, have eliminated the avenues to do so.

Access to official ports was already tightly controlled before Trump took office last month, with asylum seekers routinely prevented from approaching the ports, either by U.S. or Mexican officials, advocates say. The Star has interviewed families sleeping with their young children outside Nogales鈥� DeConcini port of entry in hopes of eventually being allowed to enter the port to request asylum.

CBP has not yet responded to the Star鈥檚 request to clarify with port officials the current protocol at the DeConcini port.

Impact of surges to border

So far, the most visible impact of Mexico鈥檚 National Guard surge to its northern border has been the extended wait times for tourists returning to 蜜柚直播 from the Sonora beach town of Puerto Pe帽asco, known in 蜜柚直播 as Rocky Point.

Mexican National Guard are searching each vehicle in the border town of Sonoyta, as they approach the port of entry at Lukeville, 蜜柚直播, Sonora officials and tourists say.

Puerto Pe帽asco tourism director Lizette Ybarra told the Star that local officials had recently met with state tourism officials in hopes of finding ways to speed up the searches, but she acknowledged that travelers should plan for delays as they return to 蜜柚直播.

In a Facebook post, Puerto Pe帽asco Mayor 脫scar Castro said Lukeville port director Peter Bachelier has agreed to extend the port鈥檚 closing time from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays from March to October, and to keep the port open after 8 p.m. on other days when vehicles are still in line.

Nogales, Sonora Mayor Juan Francisco Gim told local media that 400 National Guard members had arrived in the city in the first week of February, where, in addition to fortifying the border, they would focus on national and local security.

In the small border town of S谩sabe, Sonora, two Mexican National Guard members stood near the quiet port of entry last Wednesday. They told the Star they鈥檇 been transferred from Mexico City in December, but didn鈥檛 know whether additional Guard members had arrived as part of Sheinbaum鈥檚 accord with Trump.

The young Guard members said their role was focused on searching vehicles entering Mexico for weapons and drugs, as well as peace-keeping alongside the larger Mexican Army presence in the small town.

Most of the 2,000 residents of S谩sabe, Sonora fled in late 2023 amid a violent conflict between two criminal factions, fighting for control of the lucrative human-smuggling routes in the area.

The violence has subsided, and traveling through the town is safe now, the National Guard members said.

Need for humanitarian aid remains, volunteers say

While the numbers are low, smugglers are still dropping off some people most days at the end of the border wall, east of S谩sabe, volunteers say.

Since Feb. 1, about 74 asylum seekers have arrived here and surrendered to border agents, said Charles Cameron of the Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans. Volunteers with the 蜜柚直播 and Green Valley Samaritans, Humane Borders and No More Deaths coordinate to ensure a daily presence in this area.

In recent weeks, 鈥渢he Border Patrol presence has diminished. We expected the opposite,鈥� Cameron said. 鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen any sign of the military, and the Border Patrol seems to be rededicating their resources inland, rather than to the wall.鈥�

In December, aid workers got a warning from a U.S. Forest Service liaison that their humanitarian camp, located on Coronado National Forest land, would be shut down after Trump took office, but so far, the agency hasn鈥檛 made a move to do so.

Forest Service spokeswoman Starr Farrell said the agency would not respond to the Star鈥檚 questions about what prompted the warning about the impending camp closure, nor whether the closure might still happen.

鈥淭he USDA Forest Service has taken no action related to humanitarian organizations along the border wall east of Sasabe, 蜜柚直播,鈥� she said in a Feb. 13 emailed statement. She directed the Star to CBP for more information.

蜜柚直播 Sector Chief McGoffin told the Star he had no information about plans to shut down the camp. He said while he respects the work of humanitarian volunteers and their life-saving mission, he hopes to 鈥減ut them out of business鈥� due to lack of migrant arrivals.

Aid groups say the vast majority of border agents they encounter are appreciative of volunteers鈥� presence here. Prior to the establishment of the camp, and their addition of donation-funded portable bathrooms, volunteers were trucking donated supplies to the remote area from hours away, and digging latrines for human waste.

鈥淚t was horrible. That鈥檚 why Doctors Without Borders came鈥� in May 2024, declaring a 鈥�humanitarian medical crisis鈥� at the site, Kocourek said. 鈥淲e were really afraid of a cholera outbreak.鈥�

The volunteers routinely notify Border Patrol about medical emergencies, or the presence of asylum seekers seeking to turn themselves in to agents, who previously rarely patrolled this area. Aid workers also prepare migrants for what to expect when agents arrive.

鈥淭here have been a number of Border Patrol agents 鈥� the actual people with boots on the ground here 鈥� saying, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 know what we would do if you weren鈥檛 here. People would just be scattered to the wind,鈥欌�� Cameron said.

Humanitarian volunteers report rendering first aid to pregnant and elderly travelers; sick infants; and people with broken limbs, hypothermia, heat-related illness and physical or developmental disabilities.

Earlier this month, volunteers aided a Guatemalan man in a wheelchair and his 8-year-old daughter, who was 鈥渢rembling鈥� with fear, Cameron said.

鈥淲hat would this guy have done if we weren鈥檛 out there? He was totally immobile. His daughter was scared to death,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e tried to comfort her, but we couldn鈥檛.鈥�

Local ranchers have also expressed gratitude for the volunteers鈥� construction of protected fire pits, which are much less of a fire hazard than the scattered fires migrants sometimes build themselves, Kocourek said.

Despite the threats of the camp being forcibly shut down, 鈥淲e鈥檙e operating under the assumption that we鈥檒l keep a minimal camp footprint going, as long as people keep showing up,鈥� Cameron said.

Even saving one life, or comforting one scared child, is worth the effort, Kocourek said on Wednesday after replacing the bags in the camp鈥檚 trash bins.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the amount of people; it鈥檚 the fact that we鈥檙e here,鈥� she said.