Conservatives outraged after Axios reposts article claiming southern border is 'more fortified' than ever

News website Axios was swiftly criticized on Saturday after re-posting an article written in October that deems the term "open border" to be a "myth," and further claims the southern border is "more fortified than it's ever been."

The article, published on Oct. 17, 2023, and headlined: "Axios Explains: The myth of a U.S.-Mexico ‘open border,'" says conservative pundits and politicians "upped accusations" that Democrats support "open border policies." 

"By using the term "open border," conservatives — including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is seeking the role of House speaker — are suggesting that anyone can get into the U.S. without much hassle. But the reality is that the southern border is more fortified than it's ever been," the article read.

Conservative lawmakers and commentators took issue with the social media post and the article, which Axios appears to have re-posted and promoted on Saturday. Critics called out Axios for claiming the "southern border is more fortified than it's ever been."

Hundreds of migrants, predominantly from Venezuela, cross the Rio Grande with the intention of seeking humanitarian asylum by crossing the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on December 05, 2023. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., reacted to the article and said, "the millions of illegal aliens in our country now say otherwise." Axios was also panned for the article at the time of its publication. 

Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden's watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis found.

"Record numbers of illegals straining every state in this nation. But sure, @axios, let's focus on verbiage. Garbage journalism right here," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., wrote.

"Shame on @Axios and the regime media for telling Americans not to believe their eyes and ears," he wrote, after noting the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. 

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Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., wrote in reaction to the Axios post, "the mainstream media is the enemy of the people."

Others cited the record number of border crossings under the Biden administration. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of illegal immigration does not slow down, fiscal year 2024 will break last year's record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state. 

News anchor Rita Panahi responded to the Axios post as well, asking, "are you drunk?"

In a separate social media post, she questioned whether President Biden's handlers crafted the post.

"However much you loathe the propaganda press, it is nowhere even close to what's needed," The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway wrote.

Dec. 12, 2023: Migrants are processed in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Fox News)

The Axios article cites the number of Border Patrol agents, the construction of barriers, walls and fences, as well as regular arrests at the southern border as reasons why the border is more "fortified" than it's ever been. 

The Biden administration is weighing executive action at the border after a bipartisan Senate bill failed to gather support. 

Multiple outlets recently reported that the White House is eyeing potential executive action to tackle the migrant crisis. 

An administration source told Fox News that the president is considering executive action to restrict the ability of migrants to claim asylum, but that it’s one of "several" plans being looked at.

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.