Migrant encounters at southern border just under 200,000 in September, as FY 2021 breaks record
Biden admin struggles to get handle on border crisis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Migrant encounters at the southern border dropped slightly to under 200,000 in September, data released Friday by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show – as numbers for the 2021 fiscal year show record numbers amid an ongoing border crisis that has been a major challenge for the Biden administration.
A total of 192,001 migrants were encountered in September, slightly down (9%) from 209,840 in August and 213,593 in July. It means that there has been more than 1.7 million encounters at the border in FY 2021, marking the highest number for a fiscal year on record.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBP said that 26% of those encountered had at least one prior encounter, higher than a 14% average in prior years. The administration has been using a Title 42 public health order, implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to expel migrants quickly, even though it is not using it as broadly or as aggressively as the Trump administration. The Biden administration has only been expelling single adults and a fraction of migrant families under the order.
According to the numbers, 75% of single adults were expelled under Title 42, while just 27% (17,599) of family units were expelled via Title 42.
It means that CBP says that the number of unique encounters in September 2021 was 142,710. The agency said that 59% of encounters were single adults.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"CBP encounters along the Southwest border declined in September from the prior month, and a majority of noncitizens encountered were expelled under Title 42," acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement. "The men and women of CBP continued to rise admirably to the challenge, despite the strain associated with operating during a global pandemic that has claimed far too many lives among our frontline personnel."
The Biden administration has been facing a massive migrant surge which has overwhelmed officials and communities. The administration has blamed root causes like violence and corruption in Central America, while Republicans have blamed the administration's dramatic rollback of Trump-era border protections – including ending border wall construction and seeking to end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel accused the administration of creating a "humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border" with what she described as "open border policies."
"Smugglers and traffickers will continue to thrive so long as Biden and Harris refuse to ensure safety in American communities and stop the influx of drugs across our border," she said.
MPP, known as "Remain in Mexico," saw migrants wait in Mexico as they awaited their proceedings. President Biden abolished the program, but the administration has been ordered to reinstall it due to a federal order in response to a lawsuit from Missouri and Texas, which was in turn upheld by the Supreme Court.
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The administration said last week that it will be in a position to restart the program by mid-November, but as long as Mexico cooperates. The Department of Homeland Security also said that it is also seeking to end the program through different means at the same time.
Meanwhile, Fox News reported this month that more than 160,000 migrants have been released into the U.S. since March, including tens of thousands using humanitarian parole, which is used on a "case-by-case" basis for urgent humanitarian needs.