♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, border breaking point? surges of migrants straining cities across the country. >> we've gotten to the breaking point. there's no ifs and buts. >> byron: the uphill struggle facing border patrol. >> how sustainable is this, your ability to respond to this amount of people at the border? >> this isn't sustainable. >> byron: plus inside a treacherous crossing deep in the

jungle. those seeking a better life. > bachelorette blowout. bachelorette parties going big. >> i wanted my party to be "hangover" style. >> byron: breaking the bank. >> i didn't know it was going to be this expensive. >> byron: one woman's own version of "27 dresses." >> you have a closet full, why? >> i have a lot of friends and i like to keep them. >> i felt like i couldn't say no to the events. >> byron: what's fueling this new craze? deep sea dumbo. the stunning sight scientists spotted a mile below the ocean's surface off hawaii. aah, it's a good day to cough. oh, no! bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours?! hmmm, ok. not coughing at yoga. antiquing not coughing? not coughing at the movies?! hashtag still not coughing?!

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talk to your doctor. be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. ♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, there is new and disturbing evidence america's crisis at our southern border is getting worse, not better. this month, the surge of migrants at the border is on pace to break a record. our team has spent considerable time documenting the stories of families risking it all to have what every decent family in america and anywhere else, for that matter, wants for their own children -- a better life. but there's a high price to pai pay for all involved. here's abc's matt rivers.

>> reporter: after an agonizing three-month journey fleeing his home country of venezuela, for john luis alvarez, this is welcome to america. tired, alone, penniless. he's forced to ask for money on the streets of el paso, texas. the 21-year-old nursing student, hungry, fueled solely by purpose. >> reporter: alvarez's story of determination over desperation is common at the border. he's part of a rapidly growing number of migrants arriving in

the past two weeks seeking asylum. the vast majority from venezuela. >> the surge we're seeing now may be only the tip of the iceberg. not only do people begin relocating to central and south america years ago, but people have continued to travel to that region intending to come to the united states. >> reporter: some of them trekking through the dangerous jungles of the darien gap to reach north america. officials reported more than 142,000 migrant encounters at the southern border in the first half of september alone. on pace to be the highest single month this year, if not of all-time. in the past week, u.s. border patrol apprehended about 8,000 migrants per day, numbers that we haven't seen since the final days of title 42. the pandemic-era policy that allowed officials to quickly expel most migrants at the border without allowing asylum claims. >> we knew at that time migrants

were waiting in mexico to understand how the u.s. policies from the biden administration would affect them. now we're seeing those migrants beginning to return to those movements. >> reporter: the influx straining border towns -- >> we've gotten to the breaking point. >> reporter: -- and big cities around the country. >> this issue will destroy new york city. >> reporter: and raising questions for the federal government. how sustainable is this? your ability to respond to this amount of people at the border? >> this isn't sustainable. >> reporter: the latest crisis revealing just how broken our immigration system is. >> the current surge at the southern border should surprise no one. what is surprising is that we aren't better prepared to deal with it. that we do not have a comprehensive national plan. >> reporter: in eagle pass, texas, today the tension between federal and state agencies on full display.

the texas national guard erecting more wire as a group of migrants lined up at the rio grande to get through. only for federal border patrol officers to step in and cut the wire. border patrol chief jason owens defending his team. >> to ask my men and women to sit there and watch them succumb to the environment, to ask them to watch them get swept away by the river, to ask them to watch women and children drown, is not something i or anybody else would ever do. i applaud them, and i support them 100% for doing what they had to do to protect the lives of not just migrants but everybody that's involved. >> reporter: late last week, eagle pass declared a state of emergency after more than 5,000 migrants entered the small town of just 28,000. >> this is definitely a very serious situation for the city of eagle pass. >> reporter: the city's mayor, rolando salinas, expressing outrage with the white house in a recent interview with cnn. >> we're here abandoned, we're on the border, we're asking for

help. this is unacceptable. >> reporter: owens, the top u.s. official here on the front lines, says human smugglers surged migrants to eagle pass for a reason. >> i believe it's a money-making opportunity for those smugglers, and i believe it's a distraction for them to cross other things in the country. >> other things? >> narcotics, fentanyl, weapons, hardened criminals, gang members, convicted sexual predators. >> reporter: 500 miles away in el paso, the city working to bus migrants to their chosen final destinations. >> when they come to el paso, they're coming to the united states. >> reporter: dozens of new arrivals lined up to board this bus heading to new york city, where the mayor is trying to reduce the number of days the city will shelter single adults. in sunland park, new mexico, 15 minutes from el paso, fire chief danny medrano has been responding when migrants hurt

themselves. this leads to the broken ankles? >> broken ankles, cracked skulls, that kind of stuff. >> reporter: sometimes the accidents are deadly. >> we're seeing a lot of search and rescues, a lot of body recoveries. >> reporter: deaths? >> yeah, deaths. >> reporter: how difficult is that for your department? >> it is difficult. if we make the call while that person is still alive and we're trying to resuscitate, we look at it as a failure on our part. >> reporter: for many who make the journey, the risk is worth it. a large part of the influx has been displaced venezuelans. since 2015, more than 7 million venezuelans have left after the country spiraled into an economic and subsequent political crisis. some head north through the notorious darien gap. we met this group praying before beginning the trek through the brutal stretch of jungle. the terrain usually wet, muddy, swallowing what little belongings migrants still own.

a pair of jeans, a shoe, a small child's sock. >> in 2022, over 250,000 people made their way through the darien gap. by the time july ended that number had been surpassed. the stuff we're seeing in darien, we've never seen before. >> reporter: jose and maria torres, carrying their baby boy up the muddy hills, fighting to give him a chance at a better life. >> what we see in darien gap three to four weeks afterwards will be happening in mexico, within a couple of weeks after that, will be arriving at the u.s./mexico border. >> the crisis we're experiencing today at the southern border is a generational issue.

we anticipate that we will continue to see large numbers of people fleeing poverty, fleeing violence, fleeing disease, traveling to central and south america with the intention of coming to the united states. >> reporter: the debate over the best solutions to help the crisis rages on. late last week, the biden administration extended temporary protected status to more than 470,000 venezuelans who arrived in the country before july 31st, allowing them to legally work. the reactions, mixed. >> even though it's a tool perhaps for the short-term that brings about more stability for cities, dps is not a durable solution for migrants or what we're seeing at the border. we need more stable, long-term pathways. >> reporter: the same day he extended tps protections for venezuelans, the president defending his administration in remarks to the congressional hispanic caucus. >> these migrants should be able to apply for work permits.

that's not all. we've already delivered over $1 billion congress appropriated to states and cities receiving immigrants, migrants. >> reporter: he called on congress to pass $4 billion in additional funding. >> i've requested more funding, but instead of stepping up with solutions, republicans are threatening to shut down the government. >> reporter: for now, back in el paso, jon luis alvarez can only do what's in his control, dream. >> byron: the power of a dream. our thanks to matt. coming up, bachelorette blowout. the traditional night out now breaking the bank for some with destination gatherings, bottle service, and getaway wardrobes, especially after multiple invites.

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did i mention bmo has more fee-free atms than the two largest us banks combined? uh, b-m-o? just "bee-mo", actually. quick question, will all this stuff fit in your car? ( ♪ ) should i get rid of the mug? ♪ bmo ♪ ♪ >> byron: the traditional bachelorette party, a group of besties enjoying a night on the town, now often going big ticket, big budgets, even bigger bills. what happens when you're asked to attend more than one? here's abc's zohreen shah. ♪ >> should i get my headband? >> yeah! >> me and summer have been close since birth. our moms are sisters. so we grew up together. >> what was the moment where she

said, jade, i want you to be my maid of honor? >> oh my gosh, since very young. >> how old were you guys? >> 10. i swear. >> reporter: jade holden has been preparing for this role all her life. >> slay the booze! >> reporter: as the maid of honor for her best friend and cousin, summer. how excited are you right now? >> bachelor party into wedding, so excited. so, so excited. >> come on down, let's take a shot! >> reporter: summer's friends have flown to las vegas for her bachelorette party. >> cheers! >> yeah! >> reporter: committing to the three-day-long event, some dipping into savings or borrowing money to foot the bill. >> i told my friends about this a year ago. because they're in the same position as me. just graduating grad school, still in college, or starting their careers. >> this is how she really wanted it.

super big, super party-like. >> you keep saying big. when i think big, i think expensive. >> oh, yes. >> reporter: between travel, accommodations, and decor, the tab of some bachelorette parties can be steep. according to the wedding website "the knot," the cost of bachelorette parties has skyrocketed with partygoers spending an average of $1,300, almost doubling in cost since 2019. >> in terms of a financial standpoint, the parties are, oh my gosh, they're so much more extravagant. >> reporter: alison cashed in on the trend, creating a party company called "batch to basic" in 2016. >> i used to take clients who were looking to plan a weekend for roughly $300, $500 a weekend. now we recommend at minimum spending $600 per person. but it's often between $800 to well over $3,000 per person for the weekend.

>> reporter: on top of inflation and the post-pandemic wedding boom, for many the social pressure to attend bachelorettes at the cost of their wallet wins out. >> social media obviously plays a role. whether it's conscious or subconscious. i also think people are getting married older. and so they have the means to be able to spend on these weekends to make them as extravagant as they are. >> reporter: her team plans summer's bachelorette. why does the bachelor party hold so much weight? >> hopefully this is your first and last time getting married, so it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for your friend who's getting married. being invited to be a bridesmaid or as part of the wedding is really special. >> reporter: many girls attending the bachelorette parties also have bridesmaids duties. >> are those -- >> no. >> are they bridesmaid dresses? >> none of your business.

>> reporter: for some, the plot of "27 dresses" may seem far-fetched. >> you have a closet full, why? >> i have a lot of friends, and i like to keep them. >> reporter: for j.l. cooper, it's pretty close to her reality. >> so total, it's 15 bridesmaids dresses i've purchased. >> reporter: at 27 years old, she's attended around 35 weddings total. she's been a bridesmaid in 15 of those. >> i felt like i couldn't say no to the events. but it was -- it was so much back to back. >> reporter: over the course of a year, she's racked up $4,000 of credit card debt from all her commitments. >> it's the bachelorette party, the bridal shower, the gifts for the bridal shower, the hair, the makeup, the nails for the day of, and the dress, and even just getting time off work. >> reporter: a 2017 wedding wire report found being a bridesmaid

can cost an average of $1,200 to $1,800. with her own wedding falling just after her friend's, jael had to get savvy to pay off her debt, posting this tiktok to get the word out that she was selling her dresses. the video racked up almost 300,000 views, and she said she paid off her credit cards over two years. when planning her epic vegas trip, summer made an intentional choice to try to be up front about estimated costs with guests before they committed. >> i wanted everyone to know what they were paying for. because it's a lot of money for people just getting out of college or just starting their career. >> reporter: why vegas? >> i wanted my party to be "hangover" style. >> through a night we'll never forget. >> hear, hear! >> vegas is the perfect destination for any party. because everything is open all

the time. you can walk down the street at 5:00 in the afternoon and get a margarita or 2:00 in the morning or 10:00 a.m. >> whoo! >> reporter: the girls let us tag along as they rack up experiences and expenses. from coordinated outfits -- >> got my boots on, my cowgirl hat, i'm ready. >> reporter: to dinner at the trendy sugar factory. >> we're here! >> whoo! >> whoa! >> reporter: and dancing the night away. on top of that, party planning fees, hotel, flights, spa treatments. the final price tag for the weekend came out to about $1,700 per person, and $21,000 total. >> i didn't know it was going to be this expensive. >> what would you have guessed? >> i would say around maybe $1,000. so it's, like, double. >> reporter: double your expectation? >> yeah. it's all worth it.

>> reporter: why do it? >> well, those are the girls that you chose that have impacted your life so far, and you want to be able to celebrate with them. >> byron: it's nice to have friends, but who knew these things had become so expensive? our thanks to zohreen. up next, deep sea dumbo. a wonder of nature a mile under the ocean's surface. somedays, i cover up because of my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now i feel free to bare my skin, thanks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪ ♪nothing is everything♪ i'm celebrating my clearer skin... my way. with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. in another study, most people had 90% clearer skin, even at 5 years. and skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses.

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>> oh, the floppy ears. >> a rare dumbo octopus smiming a mile under the surface of the pacific. those ear-like tips inspiring its name. scientists from the oh i guess ploergs trust gathered data in the largest marine protected area in u.s. waters surrounding hawaii. they're part of a research team livestreaming their discoveries from deep in the ocean. janai galvez says they were in awe. >> when i saw it on the screen, i couldn't even say anything. my jaw was on the floor. i think it's very important to see these rare habitats that not many people get to see with their own two eyes. feels pretty special. >> it does indeed. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.