CBP records highest EVER number of migrants crossing southern border illegally at 2.37m

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released data that reveal the shockingly high numbers of migrants crossing the southern border which are now at the greatest level in Department of Homeland Security history.

According to data collected by the CBP there were 227,547 ‘migrant encounters’ last month alone.

It means for the Fiscal Year 2022 ending September 30th, there was a total of almost 2.4 million encounters. The figure only includes those who were dealt with by Border Patrol officers and not likely countless others that manage to evade capture by the authorities. 

By comparison for the month of September over the last four years there were 192,001 crossings in 2021, 57,674 in 2020 and 52,546 in September 2019 when then-President Trump had his own surge at the border.

The large number of individuals is said to be down to those fleeing failing authoritarian regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba which is contributing to an increased number of migrants attempting to cross the border. 

Illegal immigrants taken into custody after crossing the border unlawfully are, in a majority of cases, released into the U.S. 

Federal authorities arrested more than 2.493 million immigrants during the 2022 fiscal year. That far exceeded last year’s record of more than 1.7 million arrests.

Despite the record-breaking figures, the CBP attempted to place positive spin on the numbers by focusing on the large drop of Venezuelans crossing the border.

‘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,’ said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus. 

‘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. 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.

‘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. 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.’

Politically, the Biden Administration has attempted to blame former President Trump’s immigration policies for the problems now being encountered.

Speaking last month, Vice President Kamala Harris insisted the U.S.-Mexico border was secure but was quick to blame the Trump administration for a ‘broken’ immigration system. 

‘I think that there is no question that we have to do what the president and I asked Congress to do, the first request we made: pass a bill to create a pathway to citizenship,’ Harris said. ‘The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular, over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed.’ 

‘We’re going to have two million people cross this border for the first time ever. You’re confident this border is secure?’ interviewer Chuck Todd pressed the vice president in the interview. 

‘We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation including ours in our administration,’ Harris replied. 

‘But there are still a lot of problems that we are trying to fix,’ she added, calling for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. 

President Biden appointed Harris to tackle the ‘root causes’ of immigration but appeared to have had little effect since taking on the role.

Harris tried to shift blame onto Congress and Texas where State Governor Greg Abbott has been bussing migrants to liberal cities like Washington, D.C. and New York in a political play designed to show them what Texas has been feeling. 

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey followed suit. The political move prompted D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to request the help of the National Guard to deal with the influx of migrants, calling the matter a ‘humanitarian crisis.’

On Thursday Arizona revealed how it is refusing to comply with the Biden administration’s demand that the state remove double-stacked shipping containers placed at the border as a makeshift barrier in an attempt to quell illegal immigration.

Republican Governor Doug Ducey’s government started placing the shipping containers on the U.S. side of the Arizona border with Mexico in August – and in a letter last week the Bureau of Reclamation instructed the state to not place any new containers and remove the existing ones.

Since August, more than 120 containers have been placed to help fill the gaps at the border, Ducey’s communications director C.J. Karamargin told the Washington Examiner, adding that they are confused why it took months for the letter to come in.

‘It took the feds since August to write a letter? If this is any indication of their sense of urgency, then perhaps that explains the problem we’re having,’ Karamargin said.

‘As for the letter, we question their legal analysis and we are looking at our options,’ Ducey’s spokesperson added.

The record number of border crossings has become a political hot potato for the Biden administration and for Democrats running in competitive races on the Southern border, such as Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who is seeking re-election. 

Republicans are using the issue to bash Biden this election year.

And some GOP politicians have paid to send migrants from the border to Democratic strongholds such as New York, Martha’s Vineyard, Delaware and Illinois.

Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has sent a planeload of migrants to Martha Vineyard and is planning on flights to Delaware and Illinois.

Those would be the second and third times this year that DeSantis has flown migrants to liberal bastions.

And Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sent busloads of illegal immigrants from his state to cities like Chicago, New York City and Washington DC. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has slammed DeSantis for using migrants as ‘political pawns.’

‘They are fleeing persecution, only to be used as a political pawn by the Florida governor,’ she said.

She added of DeSantis: ‘His only goal is – as he’s made it really clear – is to create chaos, and use immigrants fleeing communism as political pawns.’