August border encounters of more than 322,000 highest monthly total in U.S. history
Total encounters reported at both the northern and southwest land borders in August was 304,162, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. It is the greatest total number of illegal entries of any month in recorded U.S. history, according to CBP data. Total encounter data excludes nearly 30,000 gotaways at the southwest border reported by Border Patrol agents last month. It excludes gotaways reported by Office of Field Operations agents at the southwest border and all gotaway data from the northern border. Gotaways is the official CBP term for foreign nationals who illegally enter between ports of entry and don’t return to Mexico or Canada. CBP doesn’t publicly release this data. The Center Square receives preliminary gotaway data from a Border Patrol agent on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. More than 1.6 million gotaways have been reported illegally entering at the southern border alone since January 2021. Many news outlets reported more than 230,000 encounters were reported by CBP at the southwest border in August. However, when preliminary gotaway data is included, the number increased to over 261,000 illegal border crossers, The Center Square previously reported. By comparison, more than 251,521 illegal total border crossers were reported in August 2022, up from 231,243 in August 2021 and 65,707 in August 2020, excluding gotaways. The next highest monthly total of illegal border crossers after August 2023 was 284,665 in November 2022. Fiscal year to date, nearly 2.9 million total illegal border crossers have been encountered, according to CBP data, the highest number in U.S. history. The data was last updated Sept. 6. and excludes gotaways. In fiscal 2022, the number was over 2.76 million; in fiscal 2021, over 1.95 million; and in fiscal 2020, 646,822. The majority of illegal border crossers are single adults, according to CBP data. The greatest number apprehended was in fiscal 2022 of 1,993,694. The next highest number was 1,876,266 apprehended this fiscal year to date, which ends Sept. 30. In fiscal 2021, 1,321,674 single adults were encountered compared to 536,792 in fiscal 2020. The next greatest number of illegal border crossers by demographic are individuals claiming to be in a family unit. This fiscal year to date they total 853,687. They totaled 614,023 in fiscal 2022; 483,846 in fiscal 2021; and 74,960 in fiscal 2020. Among the third greatest demographic, unaccompanied children/single minors, 152,880 were encountered in fiscal 2022. In fiscal 2021, 147,975 were encountered; in fiscal year to date, 124,221 were encountered. In fiscal 2020, 34,126 unaccompanied minors were encountered. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Federal judge blocks Biden administration from ending Title 42 immigration enforcement
A federal judge in Louisiana on Monday blocked the Biden administration from ending the enforcement of a COVID-era policy that allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to quickly deport illegal immigrants over health concerns during the pandemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on April 1 that it was ending Title 42 enforcement on May 23, raising significant concerns among both Republicans and a growing number of Democrats that already inflated numbers of illegal border crossings under the Biden administration would spike even further. Shortly after the CDC announcement, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued. The attorneys general from 18 other states have since joined the lawsuit. A hearing was held Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and Judge Robert Summerhays said he was issuing a temporary restraining order against the administration. “For the reasons stated on the record, the Court announced its intent to grant the motion,” the judge said. “The parties will confer regarding the specific terms to be contained in the Temporary Restraining Order and attempt to reach agreement.” After the ruling, Louisiana AG Landry called ending Title 42 enforcement an “enormous threat.” “Joe Biden’s reckless decision to rescind Title 42 would have flooded our already stressed southern border with illegal immigrants,” Landry said in a statement. “Fortunately, today a judge has granted our request to halt this enormous threat to our national security. We will continue to ensure that citizenship means something and that those in this country illegally are not conferred greater rights than our citizens.” Before Monday’s ruling, the Department of Homeland Security said it was putting in place measures to prepare for up to 18,000 people a day to illegally cross Mexico’s border with the U.S. once Title 42 was lifted. This estimate is in addition to the roughly 2 million people who were apprehended or encountered by Border Patrol agents in Biden’s first year in office while Title 42 was in place. All encounter numbers exclude “gotaways,” those who evade capture and don’t surrender at ports of entry. Schmitt also hailed the decision. “This is a huge victory for border security, but the fight continues on,” he tweeted. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Americans more concerned as illegal immigration soars to highest in two decades
A majority of Americans are worried about illegal immigration as the number of illegal immigrants entering the country soars, a new poll shows. The Gallup poll found that 60% of surveyed Americans are worried about illegal immigration, including 41% who are worried “a great deal.” “The 41% currently worried a great deal roughly ties the percentage found a year ago but is otherwise on the high end of Gallup readings taken over the past decade,” Gallup said. “The only time significantly more Americans were this concerned was in 2007, when 45% worried a great deal as then-President George W. Bush and Congress debated comprehensive immigration reform.” In addition, 17% reported being worried “only a little,” and 23% are worried “not at all.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that the number of illegal immigrants encountered at the border has hit the highest level in two decades. “CBP continues to enforce the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order. Half of migrants encountered in March were processed for expulsion under Title 42, and those who were not processed under Title 42 continue to be processed for removal under Title 8, the same authorities CBP has used throughout our history,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said. Gallup’s polling was taken before the Biden administration announced it was lifting Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed border agents to quickly expel illegal immigrants to prevent the spread of COVID-19 into the U.S. Magnus said that number will increase even more after Title 42 is lifted on May 23. “While we may likely see an increase in encounters after the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order is terminated on May 23rd, CBP continues to execute this Administration’s comprehensive strategy to safely, orderly, and humanely manage our borders,” Magnus said. “CBP is surging personnel and resources to the border, increasing processing capacity, securing more ground and air transportation, and increasing medical supplies, food, water, and other resources to ensure a humane environment for those being processed.” The number of migrants illegally crossing into the U.S. is only rising, according to CBP. “In total, there were 221,303 encounters along the southwest land border in March, a 33 percent increase compared to February,” CBP said. That number is the highest in two decades, though many were repeat offenders. “Of those, 28 percent involved individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, compared to an average one-year re-encounter rate of 14 percent for FY2014-2019,” CBP added. The poll found Republicans were more concerned about illegal immigration than Democrats. “Worry about illegal immigration among political independents falls between Republicans’ and Democrats’ concern – although, like Republicans, more independents are concerned a great deal (39%) than not at all (21%),” Gallup said. “And, perhaps important with the midterm elections approaching, independents’ concern has been on the upswing, with those worried a great deal rising from 30% since 2018.” Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Homeland Security head spars with Congress over border surge
President Joe Biden’s head of Homeland Security sparred Wednesday with members of Congress over the surge of migrants at the Southwest border, refusing to concede the situation was a crisis or even much different from what the two previous administrations faced. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas gave ground on two Republican points as he acknowledged the administration may not have adequately notified communities chosen to host facilities for migrant teens and children and said some people were released without being tested for COVID-19, though a new testing policy has been implemented. But Mayorkas, who remained largely unflappable during nearly four hours of often hostile interrogation, repeatedly deflected Republicans who sought to cast the situation along the U.S.-Mexico border as out of control. “We have a very serious challenge, and I don’t think the difficulty of that challenge can be overstated,” Mayorkas said. “We also have a plan to address it. We are executing on our plan and we will succeed.” It was the first high-profile immigration showdown for the new administration, which is facing political blowback as it copes with the sharp increase in migrants at the same time it attempts to undo some of President Donald Trump’s signature actions to reduce both legal and illegal entry. Republicans contend that the rising number of people attempting to cross the Southwest border have been inspired by Biden’s early moves on immigration policy, which have included halting construction on the border wall and ending a program that forced asylum seekers to make their claims in Mexico and Central America. “This administration’s actions have had a direct cause and effect on this humanitarian and border crisis,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican. The number of people caught attempting to cross the border has been rising since April and last month surpassed 100,000, the highest level since before the pandemic and on track to hit a 20-year high. U.S. authorities are still turning most people away under a public health order issued at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. But the Biden administration, reversing Trump, has decided to allow unaccompanied teens and children to enter the country to pursue claims for legal residency, either through asylum or for some other reason. That has created a strain for federal authorities. Under a court order, the minors must be removed from the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection within 72 hours and then moved to shelters run by the Health and Human Services Department until a relative or other approved sponsor can claim them. Homeland Security enlisted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to set up temporary facilities for several thousand minors, a decision that Republicans pointedly noted suggests a crisis. “They deal with emergencies and they are now being deployed to the border and it’s not an emergency,” said Florida Rep. Kat Cammack. “Is that what I’m hearing?” Mayorkas refused to give ground. He noted that Trump, despite his anti-immigration rhetoric and measures, faced a surge of migrants, as did President Barack Obama. The solution, he argued, is immigration legislation, which Biden supports, as well as support for Central American countries and improvements to the asylum process. “It is a reflection of the fact that our system is broken,” said the secretary, whose family brought him to the U.S. from Cuba as a child. He is the first refugee to lead Homeland Security. Faced with questions about whether migrants are spreading COVID-19, Mayorkas said his department has implemented a policy that requires testing for anyone in Customs and Border Protection custody and quarantine for anyone with the virus. But he did not say when that started and he admitted that an unspecified number of migrants who could not be removed from the country, for reasons he did not make clear, were released into the United States before they were tested. “We have addressed that situation,” he said. He also noted that Homeland Security has expanded an effort to vaccinate Border Patrol members. They have covered about 25% of frontline CBP personnel. Mayorkas also appeared to acknowledge that some communities may not have been given adequate notice that they would be hosting one of the emergency shelters for migrant teens and children. “If there was a failure to communicate with local officials with respect to our plans to open a facility in Midland, Texas, to shelter unaccompanied children, then that’s a failure on our part and I’ll follow up and make sure that doesn’t happen again,” he told Texas Rep. August Pfluger. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has complained that the apparent scramble to set up the location in Midland suggested an administration that was not ready or capable of handling the situation. “The Biden administration is completely not prepared for the number of children coming across this border,” he said at a news conference. The surge in migrant children has overwhelmed facilities and coincided with the arrival of immigrant families fleeing poverty and violence in Central America. At a bus station Wednesday in Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, dozens of immigrants recently released from government custody connected with a volunteer humanitarian organization to get legal services, clothing, water, food and toys for the children. About 50 people, including many children who held the hands of parents, waited to connect with the volunteer organization. Naciel Marin of Nicaragua arrived last week at the border with her 15-month-old baby after a month-and-a-half journey to the U.S., where she was held for a few days before being released. She held the baby on her lap as they played with a toy xylophone that they were given, relieved to be in the U.S. before heading to Wisconsin to stay with in-laws. Marin said she would have made the trip to the U.S. regardless of who was president. “Everything we’ve done is for the boy,” she said of her baby, Matias. During Wednesday’s hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, Mayorkas and some members of Congress attempted to shift the focus to non-border issues handled by his department. Those included the rise of
Robert Bentley sends National Guard to help protect U.S. border
Gov. Robert Bentley has approved sending a second Alabama National Guard (ALNG) UH-72 helicopter and pilot to Marana, Arizona to assist with protecting the U.S. border with Mexico. In April, the state sent the first chopper and three pilots to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency’s Southwest Border Mission per the National Guard Bureau’s request. While deployed, the ALNG personnel and aircraft will be supporting civilian law enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agencies in securing the border. “I continue to support strengthening our borders and this will give the Alabama National Guard an opportunity to gain valuable experience in the fight to protect our country,” Bentley said. “I am honored to once again support the Southwest Border Mission by sending Alabama’s finest to protect the great people of the United States of America.” Major General Perry Smith, adjutant general of the Alabama National Guard, deployed the requested support immediately. The four pilots will be needed in Arizona through September. “The Alabama National Guard is serving as a force multiplier to civilian law enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agencies in securing the Southwest border. We are proud to contribute to the security of our nation by supporting this mission with aircraft and personnel,” Smith said. The ALNG currently has three UH-72 aircraft in Alabama. The state will be supported by the remaining two crews and aircraft. The Southwest Border Team will perform all maintenance of the aircraft at no cost to the state while deployed.
