Border Crossings Surge Above 12 Million During Harris’ Tenure

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released monthly apprehension data that indicates there have been “the lowest southwest border encounters in nearly four years.” The agency reported a significant drop of 34 percent in illegal border crossings from June to July, attributing this decrease to recent policies implemented by the Biden administration.

Troy Miller, the senior official performing the duties of CBP Commissioner, commented on the reduction, stating that “recent Biden-Harris policies have resulted in the lowest number of encounters along the southwest border in over three years.”

However, while these statistics reflect recent declines in illegal crossings, the cumulative number of apprehended illegal border crossers has surpassed 10.5 million, with two months remaining in the fiscal year which ends on September 30. “That number excludes 2 million ‘gotaways,’ those who entered illegally and evaded capture, bringing the total to over 12.5 million,” reported The Center Square, citing federal statistics.

Illegal immigration is now one of the key issues in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. Shortly after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris assumed office, the president delegated to Harris the responsibility of addressing what had become a significant surge in illegal border crossings—a task she has been criticized for not handling effectively, as highlighted by data from The Center Square.

According to the outlet, the 12.5 million total exceeds the populations of 45 states. To put it in perspective, if illegal border crossers were classified as a state, they would be the sixth most populous in the nation, surpassing Illinois.

This figure has grown substantially, exceeding the populations of 43 states in March and 23 states in June 2022, when The Center Square began their comparisons. No presidential administration in U.S. history has reported numbers approaching 12.5 million in such a short period, especially across multiple terms.

Since fiscal 2021, the total apprehensions have reached at least 10.5 million, not counting the two million who have managed to evade capture. To put this in comparison, Illinois has an estimated population of 12,516,863.

Furthermore, the data collected by CBP does not account for “gotaways” as well as the tens of thousands deemed “inadmissible” who are released monthly into the country via the CBP One mobile app, nor the additional individuals admitted through various parole programs established by the Department of Homeland Security led by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Indeed, more than a dozen of these programs have been deemed illegal by the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security and were cited in impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas earlier this year.

This apprehension data also fails to consider the hundreds of thousands who have been allowed entry through special parole programs from eight specific countries, particularly after the administration set up processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala to streamline their entry into the U.S.

“Despite the false narrative they’re attempting to project, the unprecedented border crisis continues to escalate under the leadership of the president and his ‘border czar,’” remarked Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. “This administration is orchestrating a massive shell game, encouraging otherwise inadmissible migrants to cross at ports of entry rather than between them, creating a façade of improved outcomes while imposing greater burdens on American communities.”

He added, “Total encounters at our ports—land, sea, and air—have exponentially increased this fiscal year compared to the first year under the Biden-Harris administration, and we’re on course to exceed last year’s total. Since January 2023 alone, over 1.28 million inadmissible aliens have been granted entry through the CBP One and CHNV mass-parole programs created by the administration.”