Illegal migrant encounters at the southern border increased in August, despite the Biden administration’s claims that it is controlling the situation, according to The Washington Post.
Illegal migrant encounters increased to more than 177,000 in August at the southern border after surging to roughly 132,000 in July, the Post reported. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has repeatedly asserted that the situation is improving, and that the flow of migrants into the country is being stopped. (RELATED: Latin American Gangs Have Adopted This New Tactic To Enter The US)
“We are stopping the flow at the border. If anything, what the president has been able to do on his own, without the help of Republicans in Congress, something that he had to do on his own again, because Republicans refuse to give the funding necessary to deal with the situation, a broken immigration system that has been broken for decades […],” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday.
The Biden administration also oversaw the southern border when federal authorities recorded the highest number of illegal migrant encounters in history in fiscal year 2022.
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 29: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on August 29, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Jean-Pierre doubled down while touting the administration’s expansion of legal routes for migrants to enter Thursday, saying “The president has done more to secure the border, to deal with this issue of immigration, than anybody else.”
The press secretary referenced a short decrease in illegal migrant encounters in the month of June, when Border Patrol recorded roughly 99,000 illegal migrant encounters. That same month, federal authorities saw a record number of migrants entering through ports along the southern border using CBP One, a phone application the Biden administration allows migrants to use to book entry appointments.
“This Administration continues to lead the largest expansion of lawful pathways in decades, which has reduced irregular migration while facilitating safe, orderly, and humane management of our borders. But as with every year, the U.S. is seeing ebbs and flows of migrants arriving fueled by seasonal trends and the efforts of smugglers to use disinformation to prey on vulnerable migrants and encourage migration,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation
“We remain vigilant and continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes, including a 5 or more year bar on reentry to the United States, possible prosecution for attempting unauthorized reentry, and losing eligibility for lawful pathways migrants could have otherwise used,” the spokesperson added.
The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.