Vicky Arias, FISM News
The nation’s border crisis continues as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently reported more than 1.2 million total nationwide migrant encounters at or between our nation’s ports of entry for fiscal year 2023. That figure includes 70 migrants who were on the nation’s terrorist watchlist.
In addition to the 1.2 million migrant encounters, data obtained from a border patrol agent estimated that, from October 2022 to February 2023, there were 358,124 migrants listed as ‘gotaways,’ or migrants who illegally entered the country and evaded capture, according to Just the News. CBP data on migrant encounters includes migrant statistics from the Office of Field Operations as well as the U.S. Border Patrol.
Chief Raul Ortiz of the U.S. Border Patrol tweeted Wednesday that, of the 1.2 million total migrant encounters, the Border Patrol arm of CBP apprehended more than 900,000 migrants from 147 countries. Ortiz listed the top three countries as Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
So far, in FY23, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 900,590 individuals from 147 countries. The top 5 nationalities Border Patrol Agents encountered are listed below. pic.twitter.com/GqawsZjee5
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) March 15, 2023
Migrant encounters for 2023 are on track to potentially be the highest in seven years, or since before the Trump presidency.
In 2022, there were 2,766,582 total migrant encounters — the highest since before 2017, which is as long as the data reflects. Migrant encounters so far for this fiscal year, which started on October 1, 2022, make up 46% of last year’s encounters for the entire year.
Amid the massive migrant surge, U.S. Border Patrol has encountered 70 individuals on the United States terrorist watchlist so far in fiscal year 2023. During the four years of former President Donald Trump’s presidency combined, CBP reported a total of 14 encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist. Since President Joe Biden took office there’s been a major uptick in this metric, with the agency reporting a total of 184 encounters.
Drug seizures for cocaine are also on track to outpace those of 2022. In just under six months of fiscal year 2023, 1,119 pounds of the drug have been seized at nationwide checkpoints, compared to 1,150 pounds seized in the entire fiscal year of 2022. Typically, dozens to hundreds of pounds of cocaine are seized monthly, and there are still roughly six months left in the current fiscal year.
Additionally, the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the border increased by 16% in February 2023 over January 2023. In January, CBP reported 9,382 encounters with unaccompanied children compared to 10,870 unaccompanied children encountered in February. These children are highly susceptible to exploitation and abuse by criminal cartel organizations that profit from the situation in many ways, including sex trafficking.
The border crisis has consistently been a thorn in the side of the Biden administration, as Republicans have consistently pointed toward failed policies and the apparent indifference of the White House on the issue as a threat to the nation as a whole.
In a tweet on Sunday, Senator Ted Cruz, (R-Texas) noted that “nearly one in 10 people in the U.S. will be illegal aliens at the end of Biden’s term.”
The southern border is under siege.
Cynically, President Biden has enabled this unprecedented crisis. #BidenBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/DdiFY2wNWG
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 19, 2023