To hear progressives dismiss border security and the ever-growing immigration crisis is like listening to late-night talk show hosts wax poetic about virtue — it’s something that doesn’t seem to resonate.

Case in point: Earlier this month, former President Barack Obama derided President Donald Trump for “fear mongering” about the migrant caravan en route to the United States border, as many news outlets reported.

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“They’re telling us that the single most grave threat to America is a bunch of poor, impoverished, broke, hungry refugees a thousand miles away,” mocked the former president.

It’s evident Obama hadn’t stepped foot on the Texas-Mexico border recently, if ever — where Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents continue to find illegal immigrants on their way here from Bangladesh.

During a 12-hour period beginning last Saturday evening, in fact, six Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended in two separate incidents, according to Breitbart News.

“In fiscal year 2018, Laredo Sector Border experienced an unprecedented increase on the apprehension of nationals from the country of Bangladesh,” Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Felix Chavez told Breitbart earlier this month.

“The almost 300 percent increase in arrests of Bangladeshi nationals over the previous fiscal year highlights the hard work and vigilance of the men and women of the US Border Patrol,” added Chavez.

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“We will continue to work with our federal and international partners to share information to stop the flow of those who seek to unlawfully circumvent our nations’ immigration policies,” he also said.

All told, border agents in Laredo, Texas, apprehended 668 Bangladeshi migrants — who paid up to $27,000 each to cross into the United States by cartel-connected human smugglers, as Breitbart noted.

The apprehension of the 12 Bangladeshi nationals this past weekend comes after Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) recently likened Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the Ku Klux Klan — in addition to engaging in a televised Kavanaughesque-like grilling of Ronald Vitiello, the acting director of ICE.

“Are you aware of the perception of many about how the power and the discretion at ICE is being used to enforce the laws? And do you see any parallels?” Harris, a Democratic senator from California, aggressively said to Vitiello.

Related: Kamala Harris Should Apologize to ICE Agents Right This Minute

Not to be confused with CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection), such as the agents in Laredo, “ICE is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security,” reads the CBP’s website.

“It is responsible for identifying and shutting down vulnerabilities in the nation’s border, economic, transportation and infrastructure security,” it also says.

Both organizations, however, are federal immigration agencies.

As for the city of Laredo itself, it’s set on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas.

It’s nicknamed “The Gateway City.”

And it’s easy to see why.

Elizabeth Economou is a former CNBC staff writer and adjunct professor. Follow her on Twitter.