CBP: Migrant encounters up 63% from last year

by mcardinal

Chris Lange, FISM News

 

Migrant encounters at the southern border in February surged 63% from the same time last year, according to newly-released Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Border authorities reported 164,973 encounters in February, compared to 101,099 in February 2021. Both of these numbers dwarf the 36,687 encounters reported in February of 2020. 

Migrant encounters have decreased since August, following a major influx that occurred during the spring and summer months, but have remained high when compared to previous years. There were 153,941 migrant encounters in Jan. 2022 compared to 78,414 in Jan. 2021. February’s numbers mark a 7% increase over January’s reported encounters.

Since the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year, which began in October, there have been 838,685 migrant encounters, with 1.7 million reported in FY 2021. Among these numbers, 55% were deported per Title 42 health protections implemented by the Trump administration. The Biden administration exempted unaccompanied children, representing 12,011 encounters in the February data, from Title 42 expulsions. A recent Texas court ruling reversing that exemption has been circumvented by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Citing a reduction in COVID-19 infections and widely-available vaccines, the CDC issued its own directive March 12 preventing expulsions of migrant minors.

“In effect, this means that unaccompanied noncitizen children will not be expelled from the United States under CDC’s order,” the CDC said Saturday.

Democratic lawmakers and powerful pro-immigration activist groups have been pushing the Biden administration to roll back Title 42 protections entirely.

“Title 42 has been nothing short of disastrous for immigrant families seeking asylum from the horrors in their own countries,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said in a call with reporters last week, according to Border Report. “It is unacceptable that this policy continues to be used indiscriminately to remove migrants with valid refugee claims from our Southern border.”

Republicans, however, argue that eliminating Title 42 will lead to an even greater increase in illegal border crossings, further straining already overwhelmed border resources. 

“There is a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding right now on our southern border and the only law that’s helping is Title 42,” Rep. Jim Banks, head of the Republican Study Committee, tweeted.

The president may find that he has backed himself into an unenviable corner. Facing dismal poll numbers ahead of a crucial November midterms, Biden took a sharp pivot away from his administration’s progressive border agenda during his State of the Union address earlier this month, instead touting the need for border security.

The reversal may prove to be a hard sell to voters, particularly in light of damning evidence that the administration has conducted several covert operations to relocate illegal immigrants to multiple cities throughout the nation’s interior.

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