Not a Crisis? 1.7 Million Illegal Immigrants Arrested at Southern Border

During the fiscal year that ended in September, border patrol agents arrested a record number of illegal immigrants at the southern border. Nearly 1.7 million immigrants were apprehended, in addition to the 400,000+ that are estimated to have successfully snuck across the border.

Washington Post: Illegal crossings began rising last year but skyrocketed in the months after President Biden took office. As CBP arrests increased this past spring, Biden described the rise as consistent with historic seasonal norms. But the busiest months came during the sweltering heat of July and August, when more than 200,000 migrants were taken into custody. . .

Once in office, Biden quickly halted construction on the border wall, ended the “Remain in Mexico” policy, reversed key asylum restrictions and announced a 100-day pause on most deportations and enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The record-breaking surge, caused by the Biden-Harris administration’s failing immigration policies, brought more than triple the 2012 – 2020 average number of illegal immigrants to the southern border. Border patrol agents, state and local law enforcement officers and communities along the border all continue to struggle because of the administration’s incompetent mangagement of the crisis.

Meanwhile, Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Customs and Border Protection refused to call the situation a crisis when questioned by Republican lawmakers.

Fox News: President Biden’s pick to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chris Magnus, would not call the surge of migrants crossing the southern border a crisis, but he acknowledged that it is a “very serious” matter for which he provided no solution. . . Despite noting the significance of the situation at the southern border, earlier in the hearing Magnus drew a blank when he was asked how he would go about fixing it.

Bottom Line: The Biden-Harris administration’s incompetency led to a record-breaking surge of migrants at the southern border. Still, their nominees and officials refuse to call the situation what it is: a crisis.