In November, a staggering 242,418 total encounters were recorded on the southern border, setting a record for the month and highlighting the persistent crisis surrounding illegal immigration.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported a total of 308,728 encounters nationwide in November of fiscal year (FY) 2024, underscoring the magnitude of the ongoing challenges faced by border security officials.
The timing of the release of these record-breaking figures, just days before Christmas Eve, has raised significant concerns and drawn criticism from Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Mark Green. Green has accused the Biden administration, particularly Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, of deliberate efforts to conceal the alarming surge in border crossings.
“Secretary Mayorkas’ deliberate release of these numbers on the Friday before Christmas is a clear attempt to hide the severity of this crisis from the American public,” Green remarked, expressing outrage over the administration’s handling of the situation. “This calculated attempt to dodge accountability further emphasizes why my committee is moving forward with impeachment proceedings against Secretary Mayorkas in the upcoming year.”
The spike in enforcement encounters in November 2024, surpassing 7,000 more than the previous fiscal year’s 235,000 encounters, underscores a distressing trend. This surge sharply contrasts with the numbers from FY 2022 and FY 2021, standing at 174,000 and 72,000 enforcement encounters, respectively. The southern border has witnessed over 7 million encounters since fiscal year 2021, portraying the escalating gravity of the situation.
The released statistics come amidst a broader surge in illegal immigration, with an estimated 1.7 million illegal immigrant gotaways recorded since President Biden assumed office in 2021. This substantial increase in illegal immigrant gotaways, quadrupling compared to the figures during the previous administration, paints a worrisome picture of the border crisis.
The overflow of immigration court cases, totaling around 2.1 million, has further compounded the challenges, with some individuals slated for court dates as far as 2032 and 2035. This backlog of cases exacerbates the strain on the immigration system, exacerbating the existing issues at the border.
Public sentiment regarding Biden’s handling of the border reflects widespread disapproval, as indicated by various opinion surveys. A Fox News poll conducted among over 1,000 registered voters in late June revealed that 62% disapproved of Biden’s approach to border issues, with only 35% expressing approval. These numbers underscore the growing discontent and concern among Americans regarding the administration’s management of the border crisis.