The number of illegal immigrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in October remained at historic highs, the third-highest month in history, despite declining from September's record.
Nearly 241,000 non-U.S. citizens attempted to enter the country illegally by walking around ports of entry or did not have the proper documents to be admitted at ports of entry in October, down from nearly 270,000 in September, according to Customs and Border Protection data released on Tuesday.
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The Biden administration touted the decline as a result of its decision earlier this fall to begin deportation flights to Venezuela.
"In conjunction with our resumption of removal flights to Venezuela consistent with delivering consequences for those who cross the border unlawfully, CBP saw a 65 percent decrease in southwest border encounters of Venezuelans in the second half of October, compared to the second half of September," Troy Miller, CBP senior official performing the duties of the commissioner, said in a statement.
At the southern border, 188,788 immigrants were arrested by the Border Patrol, and 52,210 immigrants sought admission at ports but lacked documents, for a total of 240,988 southern border encounters.
Approximately 123,055 of that number were single adults, 106,290 arrived with a family member, and 11,522 were unaccompanied children.
Beyond the 240,988 encounters at the southern border, 15,399 immigrants were encountered at the Canadian border, and an additional 54,000 people were encountered by customs officers nationwide, predominantly people who applied outside the United States to be admitted into the country.
In late 2022, the Department of Homeland Security announced processes through which citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela could request to come to the U.S.
"Qualified beneficiaries who are outside the United States and lack U.S. entry documents may be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for advanced authorization to travel and a temporary period of parole for up to two years for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit," the DHS stated in the announcement. These immigrants must have an adult sponsor in the U.S.
Since March 2021, the number of immigrants who have arrived at the U.S. border has held at the highest levels in Border Patrol's 99-year existence. Numbers have fluctuated between 160,000 and 270,000 encounters per month. In the decade preceding the Biden administration, monthly encounters remained between 20,000 and 50,000 immigrants.
The Biden administration has touted dips, including this month's, as evidence its border policies are deterring immigrants from crossing illegally. However, each was short-lived.
This month, the Biden administration touted that it has removed 355,000 illegal immigrants, including 54,000 individual family members, who entered illegally between May and October.
The 355,000 is a small percentage of the 1.25 million who have been encountered at the border in that time. The majority of immigrants who are not removed are released into the U.S. — numbers the Biden administration does not publicly disclose.
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Migration throughout the Western Hemisphere surged as a result of economic instability brought on, in part, by the coronavirus pandemic. Republicans have blamed President Joe Biden's walking back a slew of Trump administration policies as sending a message beyond the borders that communicated it would not deport illegal immigrants.
Republicans have hammered Biden with claims his immigration promises enticed people from around the world to travel to the U.S. Upon taking office, Biden's administration stopped turning away unaccompanied child immigrants, attempted to halt deportations for 100 days, and suspended border wall construction.