Border Patrol agents made 207,597 apprehensions in September, according to data released this week by the Department of Homeland Security.
With the fiscal year ending on September 30, the final tally for border apprehensions along the Southwest border exceeded 2.2 million in FY2022. In addition, CBP encountered 172,508 individuals at ports of entry who did not have authorization to enter the United States.
To compare, until FY2022, Border Patrol had never made more than 1.7 million apprehensions over a single fiscal year since they began recording the statistic in 1925. The Biden Administration nearly matched that number over the final eight months of FY2021 and exceeded it in FY2022. The total number of Southwest border apprehensions since Pres. Biden took office is more than 3.8 million.
Summer slowdown ended last month
While border apprehensions dipped a bit over the summer months, they were back on the rise in September. Border Patrol agents made nearly 26,000 more apprehensions in September than they did in August. September was the third highest month for apprehensions recorded by the Biden Administration.
Single adults accounted for most of last month's increase and accounted for 73% of the month's total apprehensions, making it hard to argue that the border surge is driven mostly by families and unaccompanied minors who are seeking humanitarian relief. The data make it clear that most illegal border crossings are single adults likely coming for jobs in the United States.
Of last month's illegal border crossers, more than 105,000 were released into the interior of the United States by the feds, according to Art Arthur, a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and former immigration judge. According to Arthur, 95,000 were given "parole," allowing them to receive an Employment Authorization Document to legally work in the U.S.
Closing border loopholes
Approximately 2.4 million illegal border crossers have been released into the interior of the U.S. since Pres. Biden took office, according to Arthur. Those 2.4 million are in addition to the 1.1 million green cards issued each year and foreign guest worker admissions.
Earlier this year, NumbersUSA joined a coalition of groups that support stricter border enforcement in sending a letter to GOP House Leadership, listing the needed reforms to end the border crisis and future border surges.
The list included putting an end to this administration's (and future administrations') abuse of parole. Additionally, we recommended strengthening credible fear to more closely align with asylum, and mandatory detention for illegal border crossers, among others. (Read the full list of recommendations here.)
Many of the recommendations were included in the GOP's blueprint to secure the border and their Commitment to America. We're hopeful that, should Republicans win control of the House after the midterm elections, they'll follow through with legislation that would end border surges once and for all.
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| Chris Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director |
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