Biden accepts resignation of top US border official

Migrant crossings from Mexico into US hit a record in most recent fiscal year

• 

  Border patrol agents talk to a group of migrants, mostly from African countries, before processing them after they crossed the US-Mexico border. AFP

• 

  Venezuelan migrants cross the Rio Grande to hold a demonstration against the US immigration policies in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. AFP

• 

  Migrants wait in line to have their identities checked by US border patrol officers before they can get into a bus for a processing center after they crossed the border between the United States and Mexico through an opening in the wall, in Yuma, Arizona, 28 October 2022 (issued 29 October 2022). EPA / ETIENNE LAURENT

• 

  Hundreds of migrants from Venezuela, Haiti and Central America, who were originally heading to the US, wait in line to have their refugee status processed in Tapachula, Mexico. AFP

• 

  A border patrol agent pats down young migrants travelling without adults after they were smuggled across the Rio Grande from Mexico and into Roma, Texas. Reuters

• 

  Asylum-seeking migrants from Nicaragua wait to be processed after being smuggled across the Rio Grande from Mexico into Roma, Texas. Reuters

• 

  A border patrol agent lights a path for asylum-seeking migrants from Central America as they walk through thick brush after being smuggled from Mexico and across the Rio Grande into the US. Reuters

• 

  A border patrol agent points his light towards asylum-seeking migrants from Central America as they prepare to climb the bank of the Rio Grande. Reuters

• 

  More than 2 million migrants crossed into the US from Mexico in the fiscal year 2022. Reuters

• 

  A migrant girl, 2, plays with her compatriot, 5, as border patrol agents process asylum-seekers. Reuters

• 

  Migrants wait in line to have their identity checked by US Border Patrol officers before they can board a bus for a processing centre after they crossed the border between the US and Mexico. EPA

• 

  Migrants must have their identities checked before they can get to a processing centre. EPA

• 

  A migrant from Mexico tries to escape from US Customs and Border Protection agents flying overhead by the US-Mexico border in November near Naco, Arizona. Getty

• 

  A Mexican immigrant captured by US Border Patrol agents removes camouflage while being taken into custody near the US-Mexico border. Getty

• 

  A US Border Patrol agent watches over a migrant captured near the US-Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona. Getty

• 

  A sign near the US-Mexico border fence near Naco, Arizona. Getty

• 

  Bishops from the US and Mexico officate a mass from both sides of the Rio Grande in honor of migrants who have died trying to cross the border. EPA

• 

  The binational mass for migrants at the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. EPA

The top border patrol officer in the US has resigned after a year in which there was a record number of migrant crossings at the Mexico border.

US President Joe Biden accepted the resignation of US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Christopher Magnus at the weekend, the White House said.

The number of migrant encounters has grown to a record high under Mr Biden's administration, prompting attacks from Republicans in the run-up to the midterms.

They said the White House was not doing enough to secure the southern border.

Republican governors Gregg Abott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida sent dozens of migrants on buses to Democratic strongholds in northern cities.

The White House accused the governors of treating migrants as “political pawns”.

It said it had been working to process asylum seekers in a humanitarian way.

Migrant arrivals in the US this past fiscal year passed two million for the first time in the nation's history.

• 

  Two busloads of migrants from the US-Mexico border arrived outside Vice President Kamala Harris's home in Washington on Thursday. AFP

• 

  Texas Governor Greg Abbott confirmed that the buses from Texas arrived at the Naval Observatory in north-west Washington. AFP

• 

  Since April, Mr Abbott has ordered buses to carry thousands of migrants from Texas to Washington, New York City and Chicago to highlight criticisms of President Joe Biden’s border policy. AFP

• 

  Migrants from Venezuela, who boarded a bus in Texas, wait to be transported to a local church by volunteers after being dropped off in Washington. AFP

• 

  Many migrants who cross the US border illegally from Mexico are temporarily shielded from deportation to seek asylum in immigration court or released on humanitarian role, once they are freed by US authorities. AFP

• 

  Mr Abbott said Texas sent two buses of migrants to Washington in an effort to call on Mr Biden's administration to 'secure the border. AFP

• 

  A volunteer assists migrants who were bused from Texas to Washington. AFP

• 

  Mr Abbott and other Republican governors have bused migrants to Democratic-held cities across the US in opposition to Mr Biden's border policies. AFP

• 

  A migrant at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Reuters

• 

  Venezuelan migrants are seen at the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Massachusetts. Reuters

• 

  Martha's Vineyard, a summer holiday destination, has a year-round population of only 20,000 people. Reuters

• 

  Venezuelan migrants play football outside the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, Massachusetts. Reuters

• 

  Volunteers assist Venezuelan migrants outside St Andrew's Church in Martha's Vineyard. Reuters

Nicaraguans, Venezuelan and Cuban migrants, fleeing food insecurity and poverty, were the vast majority of those who crossed the border.

Deputy commissioner Troy Miller will take up the role of acting commissioner, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.

Mr Mayorkas is due to testify before Congress twice this week on "threats to the homeland".