The decades-long immigration crisis continues to grow due to global instability, wars, and economic struggles.
PRAY FIRST for the men and women who work on the frontlines of our nation’s borders.
Migrant crossings into the U.S. have become so overwhelming that the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, recently declared a state of emergency. In a two-day period, roughly 6,000 migrants had crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico into that small town.
Although data on the sheer numbers is concerning, a more immediate issue of national concern is the number of people on the terrorist watch list who have been apprehended.
In the past two weeks, Customs and Border Protection have detained two Iranians who, they say, raised “red flags that they could post a significant security threat.” Earlier, CBP agents said they had detained four “special interest alien” Iranians in Eagle Pass, Texas. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “special interest aliens” undergo additional vetting once apprehended.
Two Lebanese nationals have also been apprehended at Eagle Pass. In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, CBP also apprehended an Egyptian man.
Since January 2021, thousands of “special interest aliens” from countries in the Middle East have been stopped at the southern border. Those include migrants from Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Iraq and Mauritania, CBP data shows.
The threat assessment document published last month by the Department of Homeland Security said agents continue encountering growing numbers on the watch list. “Terrorists and criminal actors may exploit the elevated flow and increasingly complex security environment to enter the United States,” they said.
“Individuals with terrorism connections are interested in using established travel routes and permissive environments to facilitate access to the United States,” the assessment also said.
According to Homeland Security, unlawful border crossings in September hit a record high for the year with over 200,000 apprehensions. For August, the number was 181,000. Total encounters by Customs and Border Protection in the southwest land areas for fiscal year 2023 were 1,827,133. Those numbers do not include the so-called “getaways.”
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are over 46 million foreign-born persons in the U.S. population. While many have migrated legally, spending long periods of time awaiting visas or under special visa applications such as students and specialty workers, the number of illegal border crossers exceeded a million last year.
Customs and Border Patrol expect the number of migrant crossings to remain high in the near term.
HOW THEN SHOULD WE PRAY:
— God acknowledges the importance of border agents, and we must pray for them. “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night, they should never be silent” (Isaiah 62:6).
— God was the first to establish borders for safe dwelling places, and we should pray for the protection of America’s borders. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place (Acts 17:26).
CONSIDER THESE ITEMS FOR PRAYER:
- Pray for God’s protection over the United States from every enemy, including those “within the gates.”
- Pray cities and states struggling with the crisis of too many people at the same time who are in need of government services.
- Pray for Congress and the President to act to close the borders and establish true immigration reform.
- Pray for a loving and Christ-centered attitude toward the migrants that believers encounter, praying for them and sharing the Gospel as they can.
Sources: PBS, CNN, Fox News, NPR, Reuters
