The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly published a Federal Register notice on September 21, 2026 finding that the United States is facing a “mass influx of aliens” at the southwest border. The determination, issued under Section 103(a)(8) of the Homeland Security Act, activates special emergency authority that permits DHS to move funds and personnel rapidly, waive normal procurement rules, and coordinate with state and local agencies to build temporary processing and shelter facilities. According to the notice, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded more than 11,000 encounters a day during the first half of September, a figure that eclipses the Title 42-era peaks of 2021–2023. Large family groups from Venezuela, Guatemala and Haiti account for much of the surge, but DHS also highlights a rise in special-interest migrants from outside the Western Hemisphere. The finding allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reimburse border communities for costs such as shelter space, medical services and transportation and lets Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reassign officers from interior enforcement to border processing. The emergency declaration has immediate corporate-mobility implications. Companies that regularly rotate employees through maquiladora facilities in northern Mexico should anticipate longer wait times at ports of entry as CBP re-deploys officers from passenger lanes to migrant processing. Cross-border trucking may also slow if agricultural inspectors are diverted. Businesses moving skilled workers into the United States on TN and L-1 visas could see appointments rescheduled if consular staff are detailed to the border for humanitarian work. Immigration attorneys expect DHS to accelerate the rollout of digital I-94 processing and remote parole interviews in an effort to keep commercial corridors moving. Meanwhile, state governments are pressing the Biden administration for additional National Guard resources and have threatened to restrict charter-bus companies that transport migrant families inland. Mobility managers should review contingency plans for relocating key personnel through alternative ports such as Lukeville, Arizona or Eagle Pass, Texas, and budget for potential hotel and transport surcharges through the end of fiscal year 2026.
Source: Federal Register
