As the Biden administration continues trying to convince the American public that there is no migrant crisis at the southern border, the problem seems to be getting worse. As the number of unaccompanied children in detention – AKA “Kids in Cages” – rises, many are watching the president completely bungle this situation. (See: How Long Will The Biden Administration Be Allowed To Lie About The Migrant Crisis?)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pointed out a problem that most are not discussing in relation to the ongoing crisis: The fact that it is strengthening the cartels. During an appearance on Fox News with host Maria Bartiromo, the governor discussed a series of issues coming from the situation at the border.

In assessing the growing problem, Abbott noted, “it’s the Biden open border policies that are inviting even more illegal immigration and actually have created this humanitarian crisis.”

The governor continued, discussing his recent trip to the border and his conversations with Border Patrol officials. “The Border Patrol officers themselves told me that they informed the Biden administration that, because of the policy changes, it was going to lead to this massive surge that we are just now beginning to see, knowing that it’s going to be getting far worse in the coming months,” Abbott explained.

Abbott brought up how the situation involves the drug cartels operating in Mexico. He said: “The Border Patrol officers told me that the Biden administration policies, they are enriching and they are empowering the drug cartels in Mexico, who make money off of the people that they assist in smuggling them into the state of Texas.”

The governor then broke down the numbers:

In the Rio Grande Valley sector alone, all of last year, they made 90,000 apprehensions. Already this year, in the first two and-a-half months of this year, they have made about 110,000 apprehensions. Including in those apprehensions are 800 criminal aliens, criminal aliens who have previously been arrested and exported from the United States, 78 sex offenders and 62 gang members, which include MS-13 gangs.

Abbott then explained how the cartels work to smuggle people and drugs into the United States and how Texas’ Operation Lone Star tries to stop them. He said:

What the cartels do, they surge all these people to the border. They fully occupy all the Border Patrol agents.

And when those Border Patrol agents are occupied, they know that there are gaps along the border. And what the cartels do, they surge people through those gaps. Operation Lone Star includes National Guard, as well Texas Department of Public Safety officers, to fill the gaps to prevent the cartels from bringing across the border the most dangerous criminal elements, as well as the opioids that they’re trying to smuggle across the border.

The conversation then turned to COVID-19 and how it relates to the migrant crisis when Bartiromo brought up the reality that the groups of migrants crossing the border have 10 times the rate of infections as Americans.

“I do know this fact that came from the Border Patrol officers that I spoke with. And that is there are migrants coming across the border who do have COVID-19. So, you raise a point that I’m expecting answers from the Biden administration immediately this week,” Abbott said.

He added:

We need the total number of migrants who have been apprehended at the border who have tested positive for COVID-19. The state of Texas is responsible for fully reporting out anybody in our state who has COVID-19. The Biden administration has refused and failed to give to our state the total number of migrants who have COVID-19.

While the Biden administration refuses to call the migrant situation a crisis, its actions demonstrate that the situation is worse than it wants the American public to believe. BBC reported on Sunday that “The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) would ‘help receive, shelter and transport the children’ for the next 90 days.”

The report also noted, “There were a record number of children — 3,200 — being held in US immigration facilities on the US-Mexican border as of 8 March,” and that “many are being held beyond the legal three-day limit for being processed and transferred.”

The cold, hard truth is that the Biden administration mishandled this situation even before it started. Throughout the campaign and shortly after taking office, the president declared he would reverse most of the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies and instead push for more favorable measures that would make it easier for migrants to enter the country. Unfortunately, his team did not think ahead and anticipate the effect Biden’s announcements would have.

Migrants are coming from all over South America because they believe Biden will open the doors to those entering the country legally and illegally. RedState’s Mike Miller reported on emerging stories about frustrated immigrants who are being kept from entering the country. These individuals seem to have taken Biden’s declarations as a promise.

Miller pointed out, “Did Biden literally promise to allow every migrant who shows up at the border to ‘come on in!’? No. Have his repeated campaign promises, and actions during his first 54 days in office suggested he would welcome them with open arms? Hell yeah, they have.”

Now that the migrants are at the gates, Biden has some decisions to make. Will he just let them in knowing most of the American public does not favor open borders? Or will he turn them away and anger the far-left progressive crowd? It seems that the president has ineptly placed himself in a situation in which he is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Either way, the prognosis doesn’t look good.