The migrant crisis reached a critical milestone as authorities detained a record number of illegal immigrants at the southern border during the 2021 fiscal year which ended in September. This development is the latest in an extensive series of stories showing how badly President Joe Biden is handling the situation.

The Washington Post reported:

U.S. authorities detained more than 1.7 million migrants along the Mexico border during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in September, and arrests by the Border Patrol soared to the highest levels since 1986, according to unpublished U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post.

The report also notes that “Mexico was the single largest source of illegal migration during the 2021 fiscal year” and that Border Patrol “arrested more than 608,000 Mexican nationals.” Other illegals are coming from Haiti, Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, and other countries. “More than 1.3 million migrants have been taken into custody along the southern border in the nine months since Biden took office,” according to the Post.

Despite the fact that the journey to the southern border is fraught with danger and has even killed some of the people traveling to the U.S., it does not appear that the number of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants is slowing down.

The White House has struggled to form a coherent strategy to deal with the influx of migrants trying to gain entry into the United States. One of the primary reasons why they can’t seem to find solutions is because members of the teams responsible for dealing with immigration policy are diametrically opposed on how the government should resolve the issue.

The team is made up of both open borders advocates and moderates who wish to enact at least some immigration policies designed to deter migrants from coming to the U.S. Not surprisingly, this has caused a huge rift among members of the administration, and infighting has been rampant. Some have even resigned because of the White House’s confusing and disjointed immigration approach.

The high rate of illegals attempting to cross the border has created a situation in which Border Patrol is stretched thin, which is making it much harder for them to do their jobs. The fact that the agency is struggling to keep up with activity at the border has also empowered drug cartels, who are taking advantage of the situation to smuggle more people and drugs into the country.

Biden’s mismanagement of the border crisis has earned him criticism from both the left and the right. On the far left, open borders advocates are becoming increasingly frustrated with the administration even though the president has introduced measures to grant a pathway to citizenship for illegals residing in the U.S. During a Saturday meeting with White House officials, a number of open borders activists walked out in protest of the president’s treatment of illegal aliens.

On the right, people like Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) are bashing the administration over its failure to prevent the surge at the southern border and the fact that Biden’s rhetoric before and after he took office essentially invited these individuals to make the trip in the first place. They also point out the impact the crisis is having on people living in towns close to the border. Rep. Roy said:

How about the migrants who are dying? Several hundred? I don’t even know the exact number. We’re going around county by county trying to ask and get a number. But in Brooks County, Texas, which isn’t even a border county that’s close to the border, but it doesn’t actually touch the order. They’ve had 98 dead migrants in their county. Is anybody talking about that? Where the hell is AOC and her little white outfit crying by a fence? Give me a break.

The Biden administration has tried deflecting criticism by downplaying the severity of the crisis. In fact, they won’t even refer to the situation as a “crisis.”

During Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Chris Magnus, who Biden has tapped to head Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Republicans asked if he would label the situation as a “crisis.” Instead, he referred to it as a “significant challenge” and acknowledged that “the numbers are very high.”

The White House has also used quite a bit of deception to address criticism over the migrant issue. They even attempted to blame the surge of migrants on former President Donald Trump, who was far tougher on immigration than this administration.

The migrant crisis will continue to be a major sticking point for the president and Democrats for as long as the White House continues failing to effectively address the problem. Judging by the administration’s performance so far, it appears this particular issue will haunt Democrats for the entirety of Biden’s presidency.