Migrants are still flocking to U.S. ports of entry in near-record numbers, new federal data reveals.
There were more than 117,000 migrant encounters at official ports of entry for the month of June, according to new border data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The numbers are virtually unchanged from the roughly 119,000 encounters reported in May and the record 121,696 encounters in August 2023, attracting GOP criticism that the Biden administration — which recently announced an executive order to crack down on illegal border crossings — is simply creating less “politically embarrassing” pathways for foreign nationals to enter the country. (RELATED: ICE Points To Biden Admin Policy As Reason Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Murdering Teen Was Out Free)
When President Joe Biden first entered office in January 2021, there were fewer than 20,000 migrant encounters at ports of entry, CBP data show.
“Another month, another devastating number of inadmissible aliens entering and being released into the United States — all at the invitation of President Biden and now-impeached DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green said in a statement on Monday, in reaction to the new border numbers.
LUKEVILLE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 08: The international port of entry between the United States and Mexico remains closed on December 08, 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
“Their strategy should now be plain to everyone: flood the country with as many illegal aliens as possible between ports of entry, and then create unlawful mass-parole programs like CBP One and CHNV to encourage otherwise-inadmissible aliens to still enter — just in a less politically embarrassing and damaging way,” Green continued.
Amid an ongoing immigration crisis and surveys indicating the issue was becoming a vulnerability for his re-election campaign, President Joe Biden in early June announced an executive order aimed at controlling the number of illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The executive order temporarily suspends the entry of noncitizens across the southern border once the number of average border encounters exceeds 2,500 a day over a week-long time period, according to the parameters of the plan. This rule stays in effect until two weeks after there has been a seven-day average of fewer than 1,500 encounters.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has touted the executive order as an effective tool in mitigating illegal migrants crossings between ports of entry. In a speech in late June, Mayorkas said Border Patrol encounters have fallen by 40% since the order came down, and he claimed Border Patrol has “nearly doubled” the rate of which noncitizens are being directly removed.
Illegal border crossings between ports of entry have fallen since the executive order came down, CBP data shows. Border Patrol agents made under 88,000 encounters in the month of June, a substantial drop from the more than 121,000 encounters reported in May.
Despite this decline in illegal border crossings, the latest CBP numbers indicate that foreign nationals appearing before ports of entry remain incredibly high as migrants take advantage of several mass parole programs.
Roughly half a million foreign nationals have been released into the U.S. via a humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, otherwise known as CHNV, according to the House Homeland Security Committee. Additionally, appointments scheduled via the CBP One app have climbed over 680,500 since January 2023.
“If Biden and Mayorkas want to take credit for the numerous devastating headlines about illegal alien crime and the floods of people coming across our borders in the last month alone, they are welcome to do so,” Green said Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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