Salt Lake City mayor pushes back on claims that illegal border crossings spiked drug crime

The other side: "Our data doesn't show any [drug crime] increase related to immigration changes at the border," Mendenhall said at a news conference on public safety the next day in response to Axios' inquiry.

• "That is something that we have worked very hard, and across federal and other public safety partnerships to try to affect," she added.
• Of note: Axios has requested drug seizure data from the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Reality check: Multiple studies have shown an increase in the undocumented immigrant population does not correlate with a rise in drug-related crimes.

• Undocumented immigrants are often driven by economic mobility for their families "that predispose them to less criminal involvement and healthier behaviors," according to a 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Catch up fast: Cox's comments came hours after he joined 14 other GOP governors, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, at the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

• Abbott on Sunday scrutinized the federal government's border response, accusing President Biden of "aiding and abetting illegal entry."
• "We are banding together to fight to ensure that we will be able to maintain our constitutional guarantee that states will be able to defend against any kind of imminent danger or invasion," he said.

The big picture: As the Biden administration grapples with the soaring number of migrants and asylum-seekers at the southern border, conservative pundits and politicians have upped accusations that some Democrats support "open border" policies, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.

Yes, but: The U.S.-Mexico border is more fortified than it's ever been with the rise in the number of U.S. Border Patrol agents, barriers and fences and new high-tech surveillance systems.

By the numbers: Between 2005 and 2020, the share of unauthorized immigrants living in Utah has declined from making up 4% of the state population to 2.7%, according to the Pew Research Center.

The intrigue: Cox, who is running for re-election this year, is facing two other GOP challengers, who have also criticized Biden over the number of illegal border crossings.