PRESIDENT Joe Biden's army of border officials has blasted his reluctance to label the border situation a "crisis" – as a cartel gun war raged a stone's throw away from a Texas town.
The President of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, explained that the US immigration enforcement is "overwhelmed", amid a shocking surge in migrants and unaccompanied minors.
"A week ago I would not have called this a crisis. Today it meets the definition. We are overwhelmed.
"We do not have the resources to stop the cartels from bringing in illegal aliens, from bringing in drugs, therefore we are in fact in a crisis," Judd told Fox News.
And the upswing of border busts is only expected to increase further to exceed the highest numbers in two decades, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned.
He explained: "We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years. We are expelling most single adults and families. We are not expelling unaccompanied children.
"Our goal is a safe, legal and orderly immigration system that is based on our bedrock priorities: to keep our borders secure, address the plight of children as the law requires, and enable families to be together."
The US Customs and Border Protection have recorded over 396,000 migrant crossings since October 1 last year, the New York Times reports.
The eruption of migrants comes as two rival cartels became embroiled in a bloodthirsty gun battle near Roma, Texas.
Former Texas Border Security Captain Jaeson Jones was nearby in the notorious port of entry from Mexico into the US, when he reportedly saw a substantial shootout.
He told Fox News' Tucker Carlson: "We were sitting on the bluffs at 7.40 this morning when a large gun battle broke out," before showing a video of the gunfire.
Jones claims it is a regular occurrence of up to four times a week, as the neighboring town Ciudad Miguel Alemán remains gripped by a long-standing battle between two competing cartels.
"It's important that the American people know that what is happening down here is broader in scope than people just crossing the border," he continued.
President Biden has faced intense criticism regarding his handling of the border crisis, as Republicans rip into his "nice guy" image that is feared to have invited migrants.
One migrant, by the name of Nelson, told Fox News he made the journey to the US because: "I listened to the news that they were letting people in."
Republican rep Maria Salazar even claimed young girls are being raped and trafficked as they attempt to make the perilous journey.
"We need to join forces and send the message that we cannot allow what’s happening on the border because it’s our girls — Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua — the ones who are being raped," Salazar declared.
GOP members have accused the Biden Administration's border policies of "incentivizing" migrants, comparing his significantly softer stance to former President Donald Trump's merciless approach.
But Biden hit back, "First of all, there was a surge in the last two years," the president said. "In '19 and '20, there was a surge, as well," in a bombshell interview with ABC News.
Customs and Border Protection are facing a troubling time as an outpour of unaccompanied children attempt to reach the US.
Officials are encountering 565 lone youngsters on average PER DAY, a substantial jump from the 313 average last month, according to damning data obtained by NBC News.
The unprecedented influx has overwhelmed Border Patrol stations, seeing 4,200 adolescents in custody and 2,943 of those being held over the 72-hour legal limit.
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