(April 19, 2022, Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in response to the March southern border apprehension numbers that were released nearly three weeks into April and in the middle of a busy news cycle due to the mask mandate court ruling:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered 221,303 migrants illegally crossing the southwest border in March. The March totals are the highest since February and March of 2000, and the third highest monthly tally on record since the Border Patrol was formed in 1924. These historically high levels of illegal immigration are certain to be shattered in the coming months as the Biden administration is set to end Title 42 – the only remaining mechanism for expelling illegal migrants – in May.
With Title 42 still in place, CBP was able to remove 109,549 of the migrants they encountered. That means the remaining 111,754 were processed and released into American communities.
"These nearly unprecedented levels of illegal immigration are not the result of circumstances beyond the control of President Biden and his administration. They are the direct and predictable consequence of deliberate policies adopted by this administration to open our borders and encourage mass migration," charged Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
"Just halfway through the fiscal year, 1.2 million illegal aliens have been encountered at our border, and since President Biden took office in January 2021, some 2.5 million people have been encountered by CBP. Moreover, CBP estimates that 700,000 illegal aliens eluded capture and have made their way into the country under the Biden administration," continued Stein.
"Beyond the raw numbers, the flow of illegal migrants indicate that while Vice President Kamala Harris is busy addressing the 'root causes of migration' from Central America's Northern Triangle, the administration's policies are being viewed as a green light by people all over the world. Cuban migrants constituted the second largest group of illegal aliens apprehended by CBP, 32,141, the largest total on record for that nation.
"Rather than invoking emergency measures to end the full-blown crisis this administration has created, they are working to make it exponentially worse, with an entire focus on dedicating new resources to 'manage' vastly larger numbers of illegal migrants. The inescapable conclusion is that chaos at our borders, notwithstanding the threats to public health, safety, national security and the fiscal impact, is the deliberate policy of the Biden administration," Stein concluded.
Key data from the March CBP report:
- In total, there were 221,303 encounters along the southwest border in March, not only a 33 percent increase compared to last month, but close to surpassing the all-time monthly record.
- The last time the Border Patrol apprehended more migrants was in February and March of 2000. The agency does not publish earlier data, and the figures from 2000 are likely the highest monthly figures since the Border Patrol was formed in 1924. This would make March 2022 the third worst month of all time.
- 109,549 encounters, 50 percent of the total, were removed under Title 42, while the other half were processed and released into the country. When Title 42 ceases to exist in May, almost every migrant will be processed and released.
- March numbers reveal an unprecedented uptick in migrants who are not from Mexico or Central America's Northern Triangle nations. These numbers are sure to increase considering that many of the migrants are from countries we are unable to deport due to strained relationships with authoritarian governments.
- 76 percent of migrants (169,062) encountered in March were single adults – mostly working age men – a 33 percent jump over February. Encounters of family units and unaccompanied minors also rose in March.
- Monthly CBP numbers do not include those who got past authorities and are now unlawfully present and residing in American communities. There were over 400,000 "got aways" at the border last year, and career CBP officials say there have already been more than 300,000 in the past 6 months.
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