Several stories this week about a large surge of migrants at least as a daily total. For a single day, the number of apprehensions is higher than it has been any other single day in past decade.

Border Patrol apprehended more people Monday than any day in the last 10 years - Washington Examiner

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. Border Patrol agents on the Southwest border took more people into custody Monday than in any day in the past 10 years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Federal law enforcement agents made more than 3,700 apprehensions across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas on Monday. #BorderPatrol recorded more than

Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government

The total for entire month of March will also be higher than for a while

Top US border official: ‘The breaking point has arrived,’ with 100,000 encounters in March - Washington Examiner

SAN ANTONIO — The top U.S. border official said Wednesday the number of people encountered and apprehended at the southern border will top 100,000 in March, the highest amount reported in one month in 12 years."Two weeks ago, I briefed the media and testified in Congress that immigration was at the breaking point. That breaking

Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government

Stories from Texas

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valleycentral.com

Also from New Mexico

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www.krqe.com

Also from San Diego

CBP detains nearly 4,000 people along Southwest border in single day

Nearly 4,000 people were detained along the Southwest border Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a tweet Tuesday.

ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV

The border patrol has adjusted personnel from some of the interior (highway) checkpoints

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www.mrt.com

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valleycentral.com

Also looking more at hiring

Border patrol needs agents, holds hiring seminar in El Paso

U. S. Border Patrol is holding a hiring fair at 8:30 Wednesday morning and they’re looking to fill positions in three sectors. The seminar is being put on by the Fort Bliss Soldier for Life Transition Assistance Program. Border Patrol is looking for agents, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Air and Marine agents.…

KFOX

The Border Patrol chief is highlighting the changes. The following is illustrative showing a large increase in family apprehensions

Arrivals at US Southern Border 'Overwhelming the System'

The number of families detained crossing the southern U.S. border without documentation continues to climb this month, according to new data released by the U.S. border agency.U.S. Customs and Border Protection predicts that by March 30, it will have detained roughly 55,000 undocumented family units that crossed into the U.S.

Voice of America

Also note there are more asylum seekers. The photo from this article is in December but is taken from Mexico – so it shows migrants on US soil but not yet across the fence being taken into custody

U.S. border agents redeployed to handle migrant humanitarian needs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will pull around 750 officers off ports of entry and redeploy them to process record numbers of migrant families entering the United States at the Mexico border, the head of the agency said on Wednesday.

Reuters

While the numbers are certainly higher than they’ve been for a while, it isn’t like the Southwest border hasn’t seen such apprehensions levels before. So what is different now and where/how might this be placing additional strains on the system? A few items of note:

• We’re in a political discussion over a border wall. so there will be some actors to play up/down particular issues.
• The demographics of who is being apprehended is different. More families as opposed to single (mostly) male. More from Central America than Mexico. This may also mean greater standards of care, e.g. medical checks and limits on holding.
• More asylum seekers. These have legal rights including going through a process as their claims are adjudicated. Hence, there are also individuals seeking to be apprehended.
• More large groups. The numbers of people coming across in groups of 100 or more seems to be much larger now.
• Groups are coming across in more remote places, potentially with fewer services. For example, while perhaps the larger places can have “metering” in effect, this has also influenced people to cross in other places.

I do think the net result is not just a larger number of migrants than a while, but also different and perhaps higher standards of care. Given some choices being made e.g. holding for custody, the combination strains the system in new ways. So it does seem like a place that needs to be addressed, it also seems like a wall isn’t really the primary issue here.