According to the most recent statistics from Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officials, the number of illegal migrants entering the United States has reached 21 years high and is now close to 1 million.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced Thursday that CBP had apprehended more illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border last month. This is an alarming number, but critics warn that it does not include the number of migrants that were not captured.
“Allow me to share with you the CBP enforcement numbers for July – 212,672 persons were encountered attempting entry along the southwest border, a 13 percent increase over June 2021,” Mayorkas said.
These figures set a 21-year-old record for single-month encounters. They bring the total number of illegal aliens encountered in this year to almost 1 million between February and July.
CBP reported in June that agents encountered 188.829 illegal immigrants at the border. This was also a record for June before July’s numbers were released.
Mayorkas visited Texas’ border on Thursday, after photos surfaced online of hundreds of migrants lined up at the border to surrender to CBP agents and Border Patrol agents. This follows reports that the Biden administration had been releasing others into Texas’ interior.
Mark Morgan, former CBP Commissioner, stated that border agents were instructed to present the crisis as a less serious situation before Mayorkas’ visit.
Morgan stated that during Thursday’s briefing hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank, CBP and Border Patrol agents were instructed to temporarily clear out migrant detention centers and holding areas. They also had to coordinate with Mexican authorities in order to increase security and prevent illegal crossings during Mayorkas’ visit.
“Those pictures that we showed you under the bridge, you know, a couple thousand migrants, those facilities that we showed you of illegal aliens basically, you know, stacked on top of each other, laying on top of each other, crowded and dangerously overcrowded positions,” Morgan said, according to the Daily Mail.
“I’m actually having sources report to me right now that they have been directed to clear out the illegal aliens under that bridge and start transporting illegal aliens out of those overcrowded facilities,” he said.
“And why? In anticipation of Secretary Mayorkas’ visit down there,” he added.
“I’ve got to tell you – I’m having sources report that to me, and I’ve got to tell you, that is simply – if that is, in fact, true, it is outrageous and it is disgusting, and I hope somebody on this call does a little bit more investigative work to find out exactly what’s happened,” Morgan continued.
“I’m also hearing that they reached out to their Mexican counterparts to try and get them to increase their patrols right now as Secretary Mayorkas is going to visit there,” he said.
“And every time that happens, of course, the flow goes down in that area,” the former CBP chief said.
“I’m also hearing that they reached out to their Mexican counterparts to try and get them to increase their patrols right now as Secretary Mayorkas is going to visit there. And every time that happens, of course, the flow goes down in that area,” he said.
Others have criticized the fact that the border situation is out of control, and poses a national security risk for the country.
“This report is sounding the alarm at the border,” Theresa Cardinal Brown, managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told the Daily Mail.
“It’s not only a record number of interactions, but one that is both counter-cyclical and whose composition includes a significant number from countries outside of Central America or Mexico. We are witnessing a global phenomenon in migration,” she added.
