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The number of migrants arriving at a key stretch of Arizona border has surged by at least 30 percent in just the past week, according to a local official, as people are drawn to cross by the approaching end of Title 42.

On Wednesday, Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said at least 1300 people were expected to be detained as they crossed from Mexico.

With dozens of officers ‘babysitting’ the groups of new arrivals, he said cartels had the run of the rest of the border for smuggling drugs.

He talked to DailyMail.com just after a huge group of about 400 migrants arrived on U.S. soil, where they waited in the shadow of Donald Trump‘s border wall to be put on buses and processed.

‘By far, this is the worst that we have ever seen,’ said Lines, who regularly monitors activity.

Customs and Border Protection officers on Wednesday were faced with a huge group of 400 arrivals in the Yuma sector, on a day when some 1300 people were expected to arrive

Customs and Border Protection officers on Wednesday were faced with a huge group of 400 arrivals in the Yuma sector, on a day when some 1300 people were expected to arrive

Migrants were held for hours near Donald Trump's border wall as they waited for transport and processing - part of a surge triggered by hopes that Title 42 is about to be lifted

Migrants were held for hours near Donald Trump’s border wall as they waited for transport and processing – part of a surge triggered by hopes that Title 42 is about to be lifted

Although many of the migrants did not understand the ins and outs of Title 42, they understood that its end would make it easier to stay in the country, he added. 

In front of him, Border Patrol officers kept an eye on the 150 or so migrants still waiting for buses. They included Peruvians fleeing new unrest, Dominicans, Cubans Nicaraguans, and at least eight Russians, as well as Indians 

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‘Last Christmas was bad, but it will continue to surge, we are told from the informants on the ground in Mexico, where they see large groups of people coming,’ said Lines, ‘unless the administration sends a clear message. 

‘But so far the message is we have an open border and please come.’

Federal agencies and local officials are preparing for a surge of as many as 18,000 migrants to arrive every day if Title 42 is axed.

It was due to end on Wednesday, but the Supreme Court has ordered that it remain in place while it considers a challenge from Republican states who want it kept in place.

County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said numbers had surged by more than 30 percent since just last week, driven by the belief that Title 42 had been lifted

County Supervisor Jonathan Lines said numbers had surged by more than 30 percent since just last week, driven by the belief that Title 42 had been lifted

About 13 Border Patrol  waited with the migrants for buses to transport them to processing centers. Lines said it meant empty stretchs of border would remain unchecked

About 13 Border Patrol  waited with the migrants for buses to transport them to processing centers. Lines said it meant empty stretchs of border would remain unchecked

Title 42 allows authorities to immediately deport arrivals without giving them a chance to claim asylum. It is meant to be a public health measure, designed to prevent the spread of infectious disease—in this case COVID-19.

Lines expressed exasperation at the scene playing out alongside the 30-foot border wall not far from the city of Yuma.

‘Border Patrol is busy. You know, right now I’m observing 13 agents who are simply here babysitting,’ he said.

‘They are not able to go and do their job. And their job is to provide national security through border security. 

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‘And so while they are here, and you have to have agents here to process these people, they’re not out in the other areas, specifically along the south where we have the bad actors and the traffic.’

Some arrivals have traveled for weeks or months, risking dangers of the road to get to the US

Some arrivals have traveled for weeks or months, risking dangers of the road to get to the US

Sunshades, toiliets and water bowsers are placed along the wall at arrival points

Sunshades, toiliets and water bowsers are placed along the wall at arrival points

Such is the pressure in Yuma that the city mayor has already said officers will be forced to soon release migrants on to the street as shelters and charities run out of space.

‘The numbers continue to rise on a daily basis,’ said Lines. ‘Many of these people kind of misunderstand Title 42.

‘While Title 42 is in place they will be returned.

‘And we have seen a surge of people specifically from Mexico and it won’t take long before it really crashes the system.’

He said about 1400 had been detained on Tuesday. Wednesday, he added, was on course to almost match it – representing a more than 30 percent increase on last week’s numbers. 

A night earlier, a group of about 50 migrants huddled around a roaring fire to keep warm on the wrong side of the wall.

They said they were trying to get in on the date when Title 42 was due to be lifted.

‘We all heard about the 21st,’ said Roy, a 29-year-old from the Dominican Republican.

Republican states have appealed to the Supreme Court to keep the pandemic-era restriction in place.

And on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump blasted the Biden administration.

‘Our border is open because Joe Biden has ordered it to be open — and because Biden has broken the law and torn it into shreds,’ he says in a video obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. 

‘He has shredded our system, and he is destroying our country.’ 

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