U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released the migrant encounter numbers for the month of January —and they aren’t good. Biden’s border continues to burn as migrants from all over the world continue to pour in from Mexico; 156,274 were logged last month.
The Biden Administration claims its border measures are working.
From Fox News:
The 156,274 encounters are slightly higher than the 154,874 encountered in January last year, and significantly higher than the 78,414 encountered in Jan 2021.
However, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) noted that the new numbers are a sharp drop from the record 251,978 encounters in December — which marked a new record at the besieged southern border. It is the first month in 10 months where encounters were below 200,000 encounters.
Officials also said that the number of migrants encountered by Border Patrol entering illegally between ports of entry (128,410) was the lowest number seen since Feb. 2021. There were 21,661 processed by CBP at ports of entry, with 9,902 having scheduled an appointment on the new CBP One application the administration has promoted. 70% of those encountered overall were single adults.
While the numbers are historically high for January, which is typically a quiet month for the border, the Biden administration has been tying the significant drop since December as proof that border measures it introduced last month are working. The cornerstone of those measures is the expansion of a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans introduced last year to include Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians. The program allows 30,000 nationals in each month if they did not cross illegally, had a sponsor already in the U.S. and met other conditions.
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott hand-delivered a letter to President Biden during his first border visit, essentially telling him he’s way too late.
“This chaos is the direct result of your failure to enforce the immigration laws that Congress enacted,” reads the letter. “Your open-border policies have emboldened the cartels, who grow wealthy by trafficking deadly fentanyl and even human beings. Texans are paying an especially high price for your failure, sometimes with their very lives, as local leaders from your own party will tell you if given the chance. On behalf of all Americans, I implore you: Secure our border by enforcing Congress’s immigration laws.”
More over at Fox News:
Migrant encounters hit 156,274 in January as Biden admin claims new border measures ‘are working’ https://t.co/qpZ14VjPrp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 10, 2023