(NewsNation) — The Rio Grande River hummed with activity Thursday as the U.S. and Mexico participated in their first joint training operation to help secure the border.

The Texas National Guard, state troopers, border patrol agents and game wardens are among the personnel training alongside Mexican law enforcement.

“This cooperation is greatly needed,” said Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado.

According to Maldonado, the initiative is about improving response time to combat migrant drownings and curb unlawful crossings.

Officials encountered more than 220,000 migrants last month at the U.S.-Mexico border — the most monthly encounters in about 20 years. Some have warned those numbers could more than double if the pandemic-era immigration initiative Title 42 expires in May.

Meanwhile, little cooperation was to be found on Capital Hill as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ Thursday testimony yielded finger-pointing.

“Everyone knows that you have more people coming in than ever and you’re removing fewer people than ever,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida). “It’s because you have no plan and because it’s on purpose.”

International trucking between Texas and Mexico was slowed to a near halt nearly two weeks ago after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state troopers to thoroughly search every trucking entering the U.S.

“It has made an initial impact in Del Rio,” said Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council. “We’ve already watched our numbers drop exponentially. The problem is those migrants have just been pushed to other areas where you don’t get the same response.”

According to Judd, the entire border would benefit from Mexico’s commitment.

“Hopefully, it will be the deterrence we need from our international partners and our wall here,” Maldonado said.