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[0] As one Texas border town is flooded with 14 ,000 migrants, and illegal border crossings continue at near record levels, the Biden administration is clashing with Texas officials over the border.
[1] What's causing the surge, and how are officials handling the worsening crisis?
[2] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[3] It's Monday, September 20th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] In a potential blow to the Biden administration, FDA advised, say they do not recommend COVID vaccine booster shots for most people in the U .S. We'll look at the FDA's recommendation and public opinion on the president's handling of COVID -19.
[5] And after the U .S., UK, and Australia reach a historic security agreement designed to counter the military aggressions of China, France condemns it as a stab in the back.
[6] We'll look at the agreement and France's response.
[7] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[8] Stay tuned.
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[15] Over the weekend, images emerged showing thousands of migrants huddled in squalid conditions under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
[16] Now, the White House has restricted media access to the site.
[17] Here with details on the continued surge at the border and the Biden administration's response is Daily Wire managing editor Cabot Phillips.
[18] So, Cabot, let's start with this surge in Texas.
[19] What do we know so far?
[20] Well, over the last week, a growing number of migrants have crossed the Rio Grande River into Texas and set up a makeshift camp under a bridge in the Texas City of Del Rio.
[21] Now, a week ago, there were roughly 400 people on that camp, but today that number is around 14 ,000.
[22] That's almost half the population of Del Rio itself.
[23] And from what we're told, the majority are Haitians who've been living for years in Central and South America and are coming up to the U .S. now, mainly after conditions in the countries they were in had worsened, and also as word of loosened immigration laws had spread down south.
[24] So 14 ,000 migrants.
[25] Yeah, it's a major surge.
[26] So what's being done to address this?
[27] So images and videos of the scene were initially hard to come by.
[28] The Biden administration had put a ban on any sort of flying over the airspace there because crews were setting up drones and things like that.
[29] But we now know the goal of those crossing into the border is to turn themselves into officials so they can be processed and released into the U .S. But immigration officials say that they are completely overwhelmed by the surge and have no way to process everyone coming in.
[30] 400 customs and border agents were rushed to the city to help stem the flow, and on Sunday, they reportedly sent three flights of detainees back to Haiti's capital, but there are still well over 10 ,000 people here that we're talking about.
[31] Another part of this story that was grabbing headlines over the weekend was the back and forth between the Texas state government and the Biden administration.
[32] Where did this end up?
[33] So on Thursday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Customs and Border Protection had asked his state, Texas, for help securing six points of events.
[34] entry along the border.
[35] He immediately responded by mobilizing state law enforcement and National Guard units to the border.
[36] He was a big fan of the move.
[37] But six hours later, Governor Abbott said the Biden administration stepped in and reversed the decision, saying Texas officials weren't actually needed.
[38] Really?
[39] Yeah, the governor called that move a flip -flop and announced that he'd be keeping his own people at the border anyway to serve as a deterrent against more illegal immigration.
[40] On Sunday, Texas law enforcement flooded the city of Del Rio, where migrants were still crossing the border, and they set up a barrier with their vehicles.
[41] For the most part, from what we've seen, that moves seems to have worked.
[42] The surge of new migrants in the area has slowed, and the governor also signed into law a measure that would allocate an additional $2 billion to border security.
[43] It is the federal government's job to secure our border, but the Biden administration has failed to do its job.
[44] So Texas is stepping up and doing what the federal government is supposed to do.
[45] So taking a step back, what's causing this border surge?
[46] Why is this happening now?
[47] As you'd expect, it kind of depends on who you ask.
[48] The Biden administration and Democrat officials, they say the surge is happening because of the poor living conditions in the home countries of these migrants.
[49] They also claim other factors like climate change have played a role in driving them out of Central and Latin America.
[50] Republicans have had a very different message.
[51] They say the poor conditions in those countries, are not really anything new, but they say what is new is America's stance on allowing illegal immigrants to enter the country once they're detained.
[52] They also say it's not a coincidence that the number of migrants who are coming here served in the months after President Biden took office.
[53] And if you look at the numbers, they are right on that point.
[54] So how large is the increase?
[55] Can you break down the numbers a bit?
[56] Yeah, it's huge.
[57] In August, there were 208 ,000 migrant encounters at the southern border.
[58] That is a 317 % increase over last August.
[59] Oh, my gosh.
[60] Yeah, that's an increase that officials say they haven't seen in over 20 years.
[61] There's also been a huge surge in the number of migrants allowed to stay in the country.
[62] So zooming back out, last July under President Trump, 92 % of people detained at the border were expelled from the country.
[63] This July, only 47 % were expelled.
[64] And it's also worth noting the shift in who exactly is coming.
[65] That's another part officials are talking about.
[66] Yeah, tell us more about that.
[67] What do we know about the migrants themselves?
[68] Officials, they've seen an interesting shift here.
[69] So two years ago, 64 % of those caught trying to enter the country illegally were coming as part of a family unit.
[70] So almost two -thirds coming as a family unit.
[71] That number has been cut nearly in half now.
[72] And the majority of those detained are single adults, mainly men, and just 38 % of those detained are now coming as a family.
[73] Well, Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
[74] Any time.
[75] That was Daily Wire managing editor, Cabot Phillips.
[76] Coming up, FDA advisors disrupt President Biden's COVID booster plans.
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[80] FDA advisors said Friday that they will not recommend booster shots of COVID vaccines for most Americans.
[81] The FDA's decision marks a departure from the Biden administration, which pushed for booster shots starting this fall.
[82] Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraida Lorty has the details for us.
[83] So, Marade, the FDA is not advising COVID booster shots.
[84] What did they say?
[85] Yeah, right.
[86] So an influential FDA advisory committee on Friday rejected a plan to recommend booster shots of the Pfizer -Vazer vaccine for Americans 16 and older.
[87] The advisors did say, however, that they would recommend boosters for people age 65 and older and other Americans who are at high risk for serious illness from COVID.
[88] Now, this is just a recommendation, and the FDA is not required to follow it, but the FDA does often take advice from this particular committee.
[89] And this conflicts with the Biden administration, which does want booster shots, correct?
[90] Yes.
[91] In fact, the Biden administration previously said it wanted to start offering booster shots to the general public as early as this week, if the FDA approved them.
[92] That no longer looks likely.
[93] Before the advisors gave their opinion, at least two FDA scientists had actually warned that they weren't sure that booster shots are the way to go, saying the data doesn't clearly show they're necessary.
[94] So if booster shots are now off the table, does that shake up the Biden administration's COVID response plan?
[95] Yes, it looks like it, well, at least on the booster shot issue.
[96] The administration's also facing resistance to the vaccine.
[97] mandates as well, some politicians as well as employers are fighting back against President Biden's vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees.
[98] In the past few days, multiple high -profile celebrities such as Rabernickey Minaj and Victoria's secret model Doten Cruz have also spoken out against the mandates.
[99] Now, the FDA recommendation comes after a hard week for the White House, on top of a really hard month for the Biden administration.
[100] On Friday alone, the same day the FDA made its recommendation against booster shots, Biden was already dealing with several negative headlines, including the border and lingering criticisms about Afghanistan.
[101] All of this, of course, is impacting his polling.
[102] Right.
[103] How is Biden doing now in the polls?
[104] Honestly, it's not great.
[105] According to Real Clear Politics average of polls, his job approvals underwater.
[106] It's now dropped to under 46%.
[107] Towards the beginning of April, Biden's approval was 10 points higher at 56%.
[108] Polling from 538 shows a similar trend with Biden's disapproval up to nearly 49%.
[109] What about the numbers on his handling of COVID?
[110] That data also shows that Biden's handling of the pandemic has become less popular, with only 51 % approving of how he's handled COVID compared to 62 % on July 4th.
[111] In other words, Biden needs a substantial win on the COVID front and in general to turn these numbers around.
[112] Yeah, sounds like it.
[113] Thanks, Mairead.
[114] Thanks, John.
[115] Investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[116] During his campaign, President Biden called for a return to international diplomacy and promised to repair the transatlantic relationships between the U .S. and Europe.
[117] But in recent days, a long -term American ally has been alienated following an angry reaction to the Biden administration's decision to torpedo an existing agreement worth billions of dollars.
[118] Following this move, both China and France are furious with the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
[119] Here to discuss is Daily Wires Ian Howarth.
[120] So, Ian, can you give us a little background on this?
[121] Sure.
[122] To understand the latest breakdown in international relations under the Biden administration, we have to first look back to late last week.
[123] The U .S. UK and Australia announced an Asia -Pacific Security Pact, a historic agreement which aims to counter the military threat of China in the region.
[124] The key part of this agreement allows Australia to build nuclear -powered submarines for the first time, using technology provided by the U .S. This agreement also covers AI and other technologies.
[125] making the agreement one of Australia's largest defence partnerships in decades.
[126] President Biden was joined by UK Prime Minister Johnson and Prime Minister Morrison of Australia to announce the partnership.
[127] A new enhanced trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
[128] Orcus, a partnership where our technology, our scientists, our industry, our defence forces are all working together to deliver a safer and more secure region that ultimately benefits all.
[129] And we should also note that despite engaging in pretty obvious efforts to counter Chinese military aggression, China wasn't actually mentioned by name during the address.
[130] But presumably China isn't happy about this move.
[131] No, they're definitely not.
[132] They condemn the agreement as extremely irresponsible, with the Chinese Communist Party's foreign ministry spokesman saying it, quote, seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race.
[133] Meanwhile, China's embassy in the U .S. accused the U .S., U .S., UK, and Australia of demonstrating a cold war mentality.
[134] And this is, of course, at the same time that China is ramping up militarily in the Pacific and further afield.
[135] So how does France play into all of this?
[136] Well, the reason the French government didn't take this news well is because it meant that they lost a deal with Australia to build 12 submarines, a deal that was worth $66 billion.
[137] France's foreign minister called the move a stab in the back by Australia and aimed a jab at President Biden, criticizing a, quote, brutal and unilateral decision.
[138] And then France announced that it would be recalling its ambassadors to the U .S. and Australia in protest, the first time this has happened in the history of the alliance between France and the United States.
[139] Are there any plans to repair the relationship?
[140] Well, there are reports that France's President McCrone will have a phone call with President Biden sometime in the coming days, but it's unclear what can be done given that France was effectively the collateral damage of a broader effort to counter the aggression of communist China.
[141] And let's also remember that the European Union felt rather jilted by this, too.
[142] Since the EU is actively seeking a cooperative relationship with China, this move by the U .S., UK, and Australia made it clear that the EU just isn't the geopolitical force it would like to be.
[143] Interesting.
[144] Ian, thanks for the update.
[145] That's Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[146] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[147] Pentagon officials admitted on Friday that a drone strike that was supposed to have targeted ISIS -K terrorist, in Afghanistan, likely killed 10 innocent civilians instead.
[148] The head of U .S. Central Command said at the strike, quote, we now assess it is unlikely that the vehicle and those who died were associated with ISIS -K, it was a mistake.
[149] And a new Fox News poll on Sunday found that a majority of Americans say the country is less united since President Biden took office.
[150] 54 % say the country is less united now, while just 37 % say the country is more united.
[151] And former Texas House Representative Beto O 'Rourke is reportedly planning the challenge Republican Governor Greg Abbott next November.
[152] Beto is expected to formally announce his bid early next year.
[153] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[154] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[155] Thanks for waking up with us.
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