There is a reason that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency used a late-night Friday news dump to release the September border apprehension numbers. The news is bad. A record-high number of border encounters occurred. The records show the highest number of encounters during the month of September in Department of Homeland Security history.
The number of illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border rose to 227,547 in the month of September. This brings the number of border encounters to more than 2.3 million for fiscal year 2022. There were 20 known or suspected terrorists arrested at the border in September. The total number of terror watchlist arrests at the southern border for fiscal year 2022 is 98. For reference, the number of terror watchlist arrests at the border for the last five years was 26 combined.
Single adults, mostly males, are the most common illegal immigrants crossing the border now. There has been a drop-off of the number of families crossing, as well as Venezuelans. The lower number of Venezuelans is credited to the Biden administration’s new policy agreement with Mexico, a form of Trump’s Remain in Mexico agreement. Venezuelans are expelled to Mexico to wait until they receive permission to enter the U.S. or are sent to another country because Venezuela will not take them back.
The number of deaths of illegal immigrants for fiscal year 2022 is 856, another record number. The porous border created by Joe Biden encourages illegal migrants to cross the Rio Grand River or travel across desert terrain and it is dangerous. Many drown in the Rio Grande before reaching U.S. soil. Border Patrol personnel and resources are used to try and rescue them. The Biden border crisis is both a humanitarian crisis and a national security crisis.
The record number of border encounters in September 2022 is more than quadruple the fiscal year 2019 numbers which was the year that the Trump administration experienced a border surge of illegal immigrants.
September’s migrant encounter number was a significant increase from the same month in recent years. In September 2021, there were 192,001 migrant encounters. Border agents encountered 57,674 migrants in September 2020 and 52,546 in September 2019.
CBP commissioner Chris Magnus put out a press release.
“While failing regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua continued to drive a new wave of migration across the western Hemisphere, the number of Venezuelans arriving at the southern border decreased sharply nearly every day since we launched additional joint actions with Mexico to reduce irregular migration and create a more fair, orderly and safe process for people fleeing the humanitarian and economic crisis in their country,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a press release.
“Over the past week, the number of Venezuelans attempting to enter the country fell more than 80 percent compared to the week prior to the launch of the joint enforcement actions,” he continued. “While this early data is not reflected in the latest report, it confirms what we’ve said all along: when there is a lawful and orderly way to enter the country, individuals will be less likely to put their lives in the hands of smugglers and try to cross the border unlawfully.”
Last month’s figures also saw an increase from August, when there were 203,598 migrant encounters.
“CBP and DHS will continue to work with our partners in the region to address the root causes of migration, expand legal pathways, facilitate removals, and take thousands of smugglers off the streets,” Magnus said. “No matter what smugglers say, those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country will be removed and people should not make the dangerous journey.”
These CBP numbers do not include the 599,000 known “gotaways” that evaded capture in fiscal year 2022.
“Addressing root causes” is code for sending more U.S. taxpayer dollars to corrupt dictators in third-world countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, our “partners” in stopping the flood of illegal immigrants traveling to the southern border. How’s that working out so far? The same way it has for decades. Illegal immigrants make a dash for the U.S. border when they feel emboldened to do so, meaning there is an American president in office who is soft on border security and not particularly concerned about our sovereign borders. It’s a recipe for disaster, as we see now with the Biden border crisis.
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