Border Patrol agents are tasked with enforcing hotly contested immigration policies as many Americans at both ends of the political spectrum look askance at the border — and the agents.

The Border Patrol has been quickly growing its ranks of chaplains to help with mounting distress.

President-elect Donald Trump is threatening tariffs on Mexico and Canada as he seeks to portray them as responsible for illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have both recently signaled new openness to winding down the state’ border security operation.

New Mexico authorities are grappling with a growing number of migrants dying in the state's border region, with the remains of more than 100 found in the first eight months of the year in the state.

Reporters from both organizations spent a day documenting the reality on the border. Here’s a summary of what they found.

Ever wondered what bizarre items people try to smuggle across the U.S. border? Check out these strange finds from border inspections: live spider monkeys, giant African Land Snails, and even Xanax pills hidden in yarn spools! Learn about these unusual cases and more as KPRC dives into the creative lengths smugglers go to. Tune in Friday at 6 a.m. for an exclusive look at how customs agents keep the country safe. Don't miss out

President Joe Biden has suspended asylum processing at the U.S. border.

A sense of uncertainty prevails among migrants after President Joe Biden invoked powers to suspend asylum for people who cross the border illegally.

The Biden administration plans to partially end the 27-year-old court supervision of how the federal government cares for child migrants, shortly after producing its own list of safeguards against mistreatment.

A judge has ruled that migrant children in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border waiting to be processed by Border Patrol are in the agency’s custody.

A National Guard soldier from New York who was seriously injured in the crash of a helicopter flying over the U.S.-Mexico border remained hospitalized while authorities released the names of the two National Guard soldiers from New York and a Border Patrol agent who were killed.

The military says a helicopter flying over the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas has crashed, killing two National Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol agent.

A recent decline in arrests for illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico may prove only temporary.

Authorities say arrests for illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico fell by half in January from record highs in December to the third lowest month of Joe Biden’s presidency.

A divided Supreme Court is allowing Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the U.S.-Mexico border, while a lawsuit over the wire continues. The justices, by a 5-4 vote Monday, granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, which has been in an escalating standoff at the border with Texas and had objected to an appellate ruling in favor of the state. The concertina wire is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's broader fight with the administration over immigration enforcement.

The drowning deaths of three migrants have brought new urgency to an extraordinary showdown between the Biden administration and Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The Justice Department is asking the Supreme Court to order Texas to stop blocking Border Patrol agents from a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border where large numbers of migrants have crossed in recent months.

The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the U.S.-Mexico border, while a lawsuit over the wire continues.

U.S. authorities say they are closing a Texas border crossing to vehicles and limiting traffic at an Arizona crossing to shift more resources to illegal entries.

If the settlement is approved, the federal government would be prohibited from adopting a similar policy for the next eight years. Affected immigrants would be allowed to be in the country legally and receive work permits and other benefits.

A government shutdown would not impact operations along our borders, but would mean tens of thousands of Border Patrol Agents and Officers with the Office of Field Operations would have to work without pay.

After a dip in illegal crossings that followed policy changes in May, the Biden administration is again on its heels as more asylum-seekers cross the U.S. border from Mexico.

Smugglers are suddenly steering migrants through some of the most desolate and dangerous areas of the Arizona borderlands, forcing them to walk for miles in scorching heat.

The Biden administration has announced a major expansion of temporary legal status for Ukrainians already living in the United States, granting a reprieve for those who fled Russia’s invasion.

A Houston man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of conspiracy to transport undocumented migrants, the United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

A report says Border Patrol does not have a protocol in place for assessing the medical needs of children with preexisting conditions.

Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande on Friday in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.

Texas has started rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande.

An internal investigation finds that Border Patrol medical staff declined to review the file of an 8-year-old girl with a chronic heart condition and rare blood disorder before died on her ninth day in custody.

A relative of a Native American man who was killed by Border Patrol agents near the Arizona-Mexico border two weeks ago said she was talking to him moments before he was shot and he told her he had contacted the Border Patrol earlier in the evening to ask for help.

The death in Border Patrol custody of an 8-year-old Panamanian girl is the second child migrant fatality in two weeks under government supervision, raising questions about how prepared authorities are to address medical emergencies of people arriving after an often-exhausting journey.

A little girl from Panama born with heart problems has died in Border Patrol custody.

U.S. officials say a 98% drop in Venezuelan arrivals has helped lead to a steep decline in migrants crossing the U.S. border illegally from Mexico since pandemic-related asylum limits expired last week.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott will deliver the keynote address at the 2023 National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Dinner Saturday night.

Officials say the death of a Mexican immigrant who had just entered the United States from Canada illegally is highlighting a spike in illegal crossings along the border between Quebec, Vermont and parts of upstate New York.

With the number of people illegally crossing our southern border steadily increasing each month, according to Customs and Border Protection data, many rural counties are seeing their resources drained.

Riding the success of his historic congressional session last year where he helped pass the first gun safety bill signed into law in a generation, Cornyn is hopeful that his ability to strike deals across the aisle will help Congress achieve another elusive legislative goal: an immigration deal.

Cuban migrants are still arriving by boat in the Florida Keys even as the Biden administration promises a crackdown.

The Biden administration has been conspicuously silent about how migrants who plan to claim asylum should enter the United States when Trump-era limits end, fueling rumors, confusion and doubts about its readiness.

The Supreme Court is temporarily blocking an order that would lift pandemic-era restrictions on asylum seekers.

The Biden administration attempted to end Title 42 earlier this year before a federal judge blocked the move. A different federal court has now ordered that the federal health order be lifted.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says an agent has died after being involved in an all-terrain vehicle accident while patrolling along the border in south Texas.

Border Democrats in Texas held the line in two key House races.

Arizona is refusing the federal government’s demand to take down double-stacked shipping containers it placed to fill gaps in the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, saying it won’t do so until the U.S. moves to construct a permanent barrier.

Two people attempted to use Halloween decorations to smuggle liquid methamphetamine into Texas, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

The United Nations says almost three-quarters of the 6 million Venezuelan migrants currently in Latin America lack adequate food, shelter, employment or medical care.

The Biden administration has agreed to accept up to 24,000 Venezuelan migrants, similar to how Ukrainians have been admitted since Russia’s invasion.

U.S. authorities say the number of Venezuelans taken into custody at the U.S. border with Mexico soared in August.

With more than 60,000 employees, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is one of the world’s largest law enforcement organizations. Its main goal is to keep us safe. The agency has three components-- Office of Field Operations, Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations.

The Border Patrol is seeing a dramatic shift in the type of migrants who come across the busiest places on the U.S.-Mexico.

In a Sept. 3 story about the deaths of migrants trying to cross into the United States from Mexico, The Associated Press misspelled the name of a Mexican city.

At least eight migrants were killed as dozens attempted a hazardous crossing of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, officials said Friday.

A 5-year-old girl has drowned while attempting to cross the Rio Grande to enter Texas.

Authorities say migrants were stopped fewer times at the U.S. border with Mexico in July than in June, a second straight monthly decline.

The Supreme Court has certified its month-old ruling allowing the Biden administration to end a cornerstone Trump-era border policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

The Border Patrol paroled more than 207,000 migrants who crossed from Mexico from August through May.

The conservative, predominantly Hispanic town has long supported law enforcement. But some wonder how — or if — the heavily criticized response to the shooting will change that.

After giving conflicting information regarding the events surrounding the deadly Robb elementary school shooting, Texas Department of Public Safety officials provided a new timeline.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says an agent in Texas has been arrested and charged with assaulting and mistreating a juvenile in custody.

The pace of apprehensions along the southwest border has not slowed since reaching record numbers in fiscal year 2021.

A Texas National Guard soldier has gone missing along a river during a mission-related incident in Eagle Pass, according to the Texas Military Department.

Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to impose additional inspections of trucks entering Texas from Mexico is his latest move in an unprecedented foray into border security, which has long been the federal government’s domain.

Unaccompanied child migrants trying to enter the United States will no longer be denied a chance to seek asylum under new guidance announced by U.S. health authorities.

A strained Border Patrol is getting increased attention from the Biden administration.

An internal review has been launched into the actions of a special Customs and Border Protection unit that used sensitive government databases intended to track terrorists to investigate as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists, including an Associated Press reporter.

We rounded up some of the strangest finds that the TSA and CBP documented in Texas in 2021.

The number of people caught illegally crossing our southern border or deemed inadmissible to the United States has dropped for the third straight month.

The number of people caught illegally crossing our southern border or deemed inadmissible to the United States has dropped for the third straight month.

Congressional investigators say two Border Patrol agents were fired from among 60 found to have committed misconduct for participating in a private Facebook group that mocked migrants and lawmakers.

Two Galveston County Constables returned to Kinney County again to answer calls for help from a sheriff who is short-handed and facing an increasing number of calls for service because of what is happening on our border.

Faith-based groups are scrambling to keep up with fast-paced developments in the Haitian migrant crisis.

The images — men on horseback with long reins, corralling Haitian asylum seekers trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico — provoked an outcry.

KPRC 2 Investigates spoke with several Haitian immigrants who remain at an encampment just across from Del Rio in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuna. Many there said they were aware of the US Government’s plans for mass expulsions of Haitian immigrants, but are still determined to stay in the US.

The elected Constables for Precincts 2 and 4 in Galveston County are helping another county’s sheriff’s office that is overwhelmed by the border crisis.

Several border leaders continue to call on President Joe Biden to pause the release of asylum-seeking migrants into the United States. These calls for help come as many border communities are struggling under the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democratic Congressman from Laredo, Henry Cuellar helped lead a meeting between several south Texas community leaders and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying to entice Central American nations to tackle the corruption and poverty that have helped drive a surge of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border and presented an early challenge for the Biden administration.

The U.N. refugee agency has made an unusual plea for the Biden administration to lift pandemic-related restrictions on people seeking asylum in the United States.

Growing numbers of migrant families are making the heart-wrenching decision to separate as they try to get their children into America.

While asylum-seeking families and children dominate public attention, single adults represent a growing number of encounters with U.S. border agents.

The number of unaccompanied children encountered on the U.S. border with Mexico in April eased from an all-time high a month earlier, while more adults are coming without families.

The number of unaccompanied children encountered on the U.S. border with Mexico in April eased from an all-time high a month earlier, while more adults are coming without families.

Data just released by Customs and Border shows the number of encounters along our southern border continues to rise and reached a level not seen since the year 2000.

The number of immigrants apprehended along the southern border rose to levels not seen in nearly 20 years. The sharpest increase in apprehensions came from February to March, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

U.S. officials are scrambling to handle a dramatic spike in children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border alone.

Vice President Kamala Harris has announced plans to visit Mexico and Guatemala on what would be her first official trip abroad, as she pushes ahead on leading the White House’s diplomatic efforts on the migration challenge at the southern border.

Migrant families will be held at hotels in the Phoenix area in response to a growing number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, another step in the Biden’s administration rush to set up temporary space.

U.S. authorities say they picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March.

Overwhelmed and underprepared, U.S. authorities are releasing migrant families on the Mexican border without notices to appear in immigration court or sometimes without any paperwork at all.

The fate of thousands of migrant families who have recently arrived at the Mexico border is being decided by a mysterious new system under President Joe Biden. Republican officials are also blaming the Biden administration for actions they say are leading more people from Central America to seek entry into the United States. AdGraham recently visited the border and said he saw a facility designed to hold 80 children with about 1,000 in it. “It does not mean that they get to stay in the United States. AdPsaki said the administration is committed to transparency and providing access to those temporary Border Patrol facilities as soon as it can.

Harris has no plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border region “in the near future,” spokeswoman Symone Sanders said Friday. Sanders said Harris will go to the border at some point but emphasized the diplomatic nature of the vice president's role. “The vice president is not doing the border,” Sanders told reporters on a flight to Connecticut, where Harris was promoting the administration's COVID-19 relief package. He tweeted out photos of dozens of minors, wrapped in foil-like space blankets, lying on the floor of crowded Border Patrol facilities. It is not unusual to see increases in migrants coming across the border at this time of year and the Border Patrol has faced similar situations in the past, the official said.

Every border patrol sector from Texas to California is reporting increases in apprehensions. “This many people coming into our country illegally does put a burden on our system,” said border patrol agent Jesse Moreno. Moreno said Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has been hit particularly hard by large groups of immigrants crossing at once. Pimentel has long helped immigrants released from border patrol custody by providing a respite center with food, medical care, and assistance in understanding immigration court documents. Catholic Charities of the RGV has also started testing immigrants released in McAllen for COVID-19.

The photographs, provided by the office of Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, give a rare glimpse of the conditions many migrants are facing in Border Patrol detention centers. The Biden administration continues to block press access to Border Patrol facilities and shelters that house some of the migrants that have crossed the border. The increase in apprehensions began during the final months of the Trump administration. Mayorkas has said that Border Patrol stations are no place for children, and that the administration is "working around the clock" to get the children into Department of Health and Human Services facilities. “The increased number of people crossing the border is something that border experts have predicted for some time now.

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2019 file photo, immigrants seeking asylum walk at the ICE South Texas Family Residential Center, in Dilley, Texas. The number of children crossing by themselves, mostly from Central America, appears to be surging in particular in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. AdThe total of 561 unaccompanied minors from Monday offers a snapshot of how quickly conditions have changed along the border. “They’re all coming across the border, they’re coming fast, and they’re wearing Biden T-shirts,” said the Oklahoma Republican. The Biden administration last week ended a Trump policy that made relatives reluctant to contact HHS to retrieve children for fear of being deported themselves.

FILE - In this Thursday, May 2, 2019 file photo, Border Patrol agents hold a news conference prior to a media tour of a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporary facility near the Donna International Bridge in Donna, Texas. President Joe Bidens administration is refusing to allow lawyers who inspect facilities where immigrant children are detained to enter a Border Patrol tent in Texas where agents are holding hundreds of youths. – The Biden administration is turning to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help managing and caring for record numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children who are streaming into the United States by illegally crossing the border with Mexico. During an record influx of unaccompanied minors in 2014, the Obama administration also turned to FEMA for help coordinating the governmentwide response. AdPresident Joe Biden has ended the Trump-era practice of expelling immigrant children who cross the border alone, but maintained expulsions of immigrant families and single adults.

A tent facility operated by the Border Patrol in Donna, some 500 miles (804 kilometers) south of Dallas, is holding more than 1,000 children and teenagers, some as young as 4. “This crisis is created by the presidential policies of this new administration,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Monday while leading a large congressional delegation to El Paso, Texas. “There’s no other way to claim it than a Biden border crisis.”Texas Gov. Dallas previously offered space to HHS during the 2014 surge of crossings of immigrant children. HHS also has said it will house immigrant youths in Midland.

The lawyers interviewed more than a dozen children Thursday in Donna, Texas, where the Border Patrol is holding more than 1,000 people. The Border Patrol currently has a record high of more than 3,000 children in detention, according to government data obtained by AP. More children are waiting longer in Border Patrol custody because long-term facilities operated by U.S. Health and Human Services have next to no capacity. AdMost Border Patrol stations were designed for short-term detention of adults, with cold, concrete cells with the lights always on. One died of the flu at the Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, where minors are currently being held.

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)EL CENTRO, Calif. – Nine migrants in an SUV packed with 25 people that drove through an opening in a border wall suffered major injuries after their vehicle slammed into a tractor-trailer and killed 13 others inside, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday. The driver was among the 13 killed in the SUV, from Tuesday’s collision in California’s Imperial Valley, a farming region that produces many of the winter vegetables sold in U.S. supermarkets. The oldest was a 46-year-old woman from Guatemala City, also with major injuries. The Border Patrol said surveillance video showed the Expedition and a Chevrolet Suburban drive through an opening in the border wall about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of the crash. The Expedition soon struck the tractor-trailer, whose driver, a 68-year-old man from El Centro, suffered major injuries.