United States border officials encountered more than 200,000 illegal immigrants during the month of May, as Title 42 immigration policies expired.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency released data on their border encounters through the month of May. In total, the border agency reported 204,561 total border encounters in May.
U.S. Border Patrol agents reported 98,850 individuals illegally crossing between ports of entry along the Southwest border from May 1 to 11, before the expiration of Title 42—a pandemic-era authority that allowed border officials to turn away and expel migrants from the United States for public health reasons. After May 11, Border Patrol agents reported another 70,394 illegal crossings between points of entry at the Southwest border.
The 169,244 total illegal crossings between points of entry last month is a 25 percent drop from May 2022, when Border Patrol agents reported around 224,370 people crossing between ports of entry.
In addition to the 169,244 illegal crossings between points of entry, CBP reported another 35,317 encounters by people arriving at recognized points of entry along the southern border. Of the 35,317 people who arrived at recognized points of entry, 28,696 individuals indicated they had scheduled appointments to begin the border entry process through the CBP One app; which the agency has been using to manage the influx of border arrivals.
CBP reported the 204,561 total border encounters in May is a 15 percent reduction from May of 2022 when border authorities reported 241,136 encounters along the Southwest border. The May 2023 border encounter numbers do, however, represent a 13 percent increase from May of 2021 when border authorities recorded 180,597 encounters on the Southwest border.
There were 23,237 total encounters at the Southwest border in May 2020 and 144,116 encounters at the Southwest border in May 2019.
Members of President Joe Biden’s administration have claimed early successes in addressing traffic at the U.S. border after Title 42 expired.
In a May 14 interview, less than three full days after Title 42 expired, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said U.S. border authorities “experienced a 50 percent drop in the number of encounters” after Title 42 expired compared to the days before the pandemic-era immigration policy ended.
In addition to ending Title 42 policies, the Biden administration has implemented the CBP One app and new parole policies for people seeking to enter the United States. At the same time, the Biden administration has warned illegal border crossers risk being disqualified from future entry. The Biden administration has also proposed an asylum rule (pdf) whereby asylum applicants are presumed to be ineligible if they did not first seek asylum or other legal protections in the countries they passed through on their way to the United States.
“As a result of comprehensive planning and preparation efforts, there has been a significant reduction in encounters along the Southwest border since the return to full Title 8 immigration enforcement on May 12,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy A. Miller said on Tuesday. “As we continue to execute our plans–including delivering strengthened consequences for those who cross unlawfully while expanding access to lawful pathways and processes–we will continue to monitor changes in encounter trends and adjust our response as necessary.”
Republican lawmakers have questioned the true efficacy of the Biden administration’s border policies.
At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing last week, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) asserted there have been about 1.5 million people known to have illegally crossed the border but who then evaded Border Patrol agents, dubbed “known gotaways.” Higgins said the number of “unknown gotaways” could be double that of the “known gotaways.”
Republican states have filed multiple lawsuits challenging the Biden-era asylum procedures. The stated goal of the Biden-era asylum rule is to create a rebuttable presumption that applicants are ineligible for asylum in the United States if they didn’t apply for asylum in other countries through which they passed first. An 18-state lawsuit (pdf) argues, however, that the asylum rule actually incentivizes illegal immigrants to make “bogus asylum claims.” The same lawsuit argues that there are several ways illegal immigrants can easily rebut the presumption of asylum ineligibility, rendering the Biden administration policy “toothless.”
From NTD News