Meanwhile, the Biden administration

 Meanwhile, the Biden administration

 has been under fire for its handling of the migrant crisis at the southern border, where more than 2.3 million migrants from countries across the globe crossed the border in FY 2022 -- and more than 251,000 in December alone.

While the Biden administration has cast the problem as a hemisphere-wide crisis that requires cooperation with allied countries -- which it has made moves to secure -- to tackle "root causes," critics have said the ongoing crisis shows the failure of the administration’s policies. 

BIDEN'S FUMBLED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL WAS A PROPAGANDA GIFT TO CHINA, PENTAGON FINDS 

Republicans repeatedly linked the border crisis to the balloon saga this week, including after it was shot down.