The number of migrants that got into the country by crossing the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2023 surpassed the populations in eleven different U.S. states, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of federal data.
The number of migrants that entered the country in fiscal year 2023 via the southern border and were either released or known to have evaded law enforcement surpassed 1.5 million, which is greater than the populations in these eleven U.S. states: Wyoming (581,381), Vermont (647,064), Alaska (733,583), North Dakota (779,261), South Dakota (909,824) , Delaware (1,018,396), Rhode Island (1,093,734), Montana (1,112, 867), Maine (1,385,340), New Hampshire (1,395,231) and Hawaii (1,440,196), according to the DCNF’s review of the data.
The Border Patrol released 908,669 illegal immigrants who crossed the southern border in fiscal 2023 on humanitarian grounds, according to the data.
In addition, there were more than 600,000 migrants known to have snuck into the country without apprehension, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told members of the Senate Homeland Security Committee during a hearing Tuesday. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Feds Warn That Hamas, Hezbollah Could Be Crossing Southern Border)
“The phenomenon of gotaways is something that has been a challenge for the Department of Homeland Security for decades,” Mayorkas told Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall during Tuesday’s hearing.
🚨🚨Secretary Mayorkas confirmed OVER 600,000 known gotaways entered our country in 2023 alone. pic.twitter.com/6eAPerWasN
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) October 31, 2023
The number of Border Patrol encounters of migrants crossing the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2023 hit 2,045,838, according to federal data.
For comparison, Border Patrol encounters of illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border also surpassed 2 million in fiscal year 2022, with roughly 300,000 humanitarian releases into the country, according to federal data. That year, the Biden administration was using Title 42, a public health order, to immediately expel certain illegal migrants to Mexico.
The use of Title 42 ended May 11.
In 2021, Border Patrol encounters of illegal migrants at the southern border hit roughly 1.6 million and humanitarian releases hit roughly 262,000, according to federal data.
We are building lawful pathways, and we are delivering consequences for those who do not use those meaningfully accessible pathways. We have a plan. We are executing on that plan. I have come to McAllen and Brownsville to see firsthand that plan in action. pic.twitter.com/YplX75CM7Y
— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) May 6, 2023
While almost half of all illegal migrants encountered by Border Patrol at the southern border in fiscal year 2023 were released, the Biden administration was pledging “consequences for migrants coming illegally without any basis to stay in the country.”
In making our enforcement decisions, we will focus our efforts on the greatest threats while also recognizing the majority of undocumented noncitizens, who have been here for many years & who have contributed positively to our country’s well-being, are not priorities for removal.
— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) November 29, 2021
Once released into the country, illegal migrants face limited consequences if they don’t commit serious crimes. Just a few months after President Biden’s inauguration, Mayorkas made it no longer a priority for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities to arrest and deport migrants solely based on the fact that they’re in the country illegally.
In addition to the number of illegal migrants crossing the southern border, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers processed more than 284,626 between January and September who were entering the country at legal ports of entry along the southern border using CBP One, a phone application the Biden administration began using for legal entry of migrants in January, according to federal data.
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