The US border is still at a breaking point with 309,000 people attempting to enter the the country in October according to Customs and Border Protection’s official figures.
It was the second highest month for crossings at US land borders to the North and Southwest in history, down from September when the record was set with 341,000 encounters, government statistics show.
Of those encountered by agents, 188,000 — more than half — were arrested for illegally entering the country between official points of entry on the Southwest border.
Others included in the total number of encounters were 44,000 migrants who had arranged appointments with officers through the CBP One app and those who handed themselves in at border crossings to claim asylum, as well as those crossing regularly with US passports or visas.
CBP said it has seen a 65% decrease in encounters with Venezuelan nationals in the second half of October, after deportation flights resumed to the South American nation on Oct. 18.
In September Venezuelans had become the nationality most often arrested for illegally crossing the border, surpassing Mexican nationals for the first time.
As well as those encountered at the border by officers, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has admitted that in the 2023 fiscal year which ended September 30, some 600,000 people illegally made their way into the United States without being apprehended by border agents, in what he himself called “a powerful example of a broken immigration system.”
In the last financial year, CBP said 900,000 migrants had been allowed into the country legally along the southwest border under humanitarian parole, allowing them to pursue asylum applications.
Homeland security officials said they had removed more than 355,000 people “without a legal basis to remain” in the US since May. That represents around 25% of all those who were encountered at the border in the same period.
“We continue to enhance our border security posture and remain vigilant,” said Troy Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, as he urged lawmakers to approve President Joe Biden’s supplemental budget request for $13.6 billion in border-related spending.
Those who are admitted to the country on parole to pursue immigration claims have overwhelmed resources in New York, Chicago and San Diego, who all say they cannot handle any more arrivals.
New York City statistics show over 2,800 migrants arriving weekly and 65,500 are currently put up in more than 200 city-run shelter sites. Figures provided by City Hall showed only around 2% have applied for work permits.
Over on the West Coast, the San Diego border sector continues to be overrun by migrants. Recently The Post witnessed as hundreds streamed through a weak point in the border fence, where the 30-foot tall structure abutted a rock face and left a wide gap that had been plugged with concertina wire.
Many then seek out border agents and hand themselves over claiming asylum.
Once interviewed to see if they have a credible fear of harm if returned to their home country, they are either deported or allowed into the country to pursue asylum claims.
In Oct. San Diego authorities said they are receiving around 500 people a day admitted by border patrol.
Officials said while they continued to squeeze as many families with children into the limited shelter space they had, mant were being dropped off at makeshift transit centers to make their way out of town on their own.
“Many don’t know where they are — that this is San Diego, this is [the] San Diego region, the nearest airport is San Diego and how to get to their final destination,” Paulina Reyes-Perrariz, managing attorney for Immigrant Defender Law Center’s cross-border initiative, told the Associated Press.
“That is what we’re trying to provide support with.”