It’s no secret that we’ve been seeing record numbers of illegal aliens crossing the border over the past year, with many of them going on to be shipped around to various parts of the nation’s interior courtesy of the Air Joe Biden illegal entry flight program. But our understanding of the source(s) of this human wave have been changing in recent months. We typically think of the majority of the migrants violating our southern border during the Biden border crisis as to be coming from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. And it’s true that we still see plenty of border jumpers coming from those nations. But during the second half of 2021, CBP began reporting a steep increase in the number of migrants coming from much further away. Disturbingly, near the top of that list of countries of origin are Russia and Ukraine. In fact, the total number of illegal aliens making those much longer trips in December was more than those from Mexico and the Northern Triangle combined. (Axios)

Why it matters: For years, most migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border have come from Mexico or the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. But last month, they were outnumbered by those making an even longer and more complicated trek to the United States.

By the numbers: The migrants making their way to the border included more than 2,000 Russians and 300 Ukrainians. Most arrived or were discovered at a legal port of entry in San Diego, California, according to the data.

In mid-December, 18 Russian migrants were discovered in two vehicles that collided after a Border officer fired his gun to stop them from speeding through an inspection station at the San Diego port of entry, according to a release from Customs and Border Protection.

Some of these numbers are still estimates based on reports released by CBP. That’s because Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security is still refusing to release the official annual report from ICE. (Which is mandated by law.) But the numbers we do have thus far tell a disturbing tale.

Why would that many people be coming here illegally from Russia and Ukraine? Sure, if you follow the news regarding what’s going on between those two nations there are probably plenty of people who wouldn’t mind clearing out before the shooting starts in earnest. But it traditionally hasn’t been that hard for people from either country to qualify for a visa and come here legally.

We can’t ignore the possibility that some of those migrants are not simply here to escape unrest in their homelands. It’s not crazy to suspect that some of them are coming here to act as spies or even commit acts of violence. (Just what we need at this point, eh?)

If you ask the Border Patrol, they’re blaming the coyotes who are looking to “grow their customer base” and “expand into new markets.” I suppose that could account for some of the surge being observed. But the “customers” would still need a motivation to seek them out. It’s easy enough to understand how people might want to flee the poverty, violence and corruption of the Northern Triangle countries. But are things really that bad in Russia and Ukraine? (Assuming you’re willing to set aside concerns of the military conflicts unfolding there today, of course.)

If Joe Biden was willing to spend one percent of the effort he claims to demand in ensuring the integrity of Ukraine’s borders to doing the same for our own, we might be able to get a handle on both of those problems. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards any time soon. Joe Biden refuses to return to the successful border security measures of the previous administration while growing curiously obsessed with Ukraine’s border situation.