The crisis at the southern border is getting worse.

On Jan. 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released data for the preceding month. The numbers were concerning. In December alone, agents had 251,487 encounters with migrants, a 7 percent increase from November.

There are certainly many factors involved in illegal immigration. Nevertheless, the federal government has more than enough power to prevent people crossing the border. The problem is that our government, under current leadership, seems opposed to taking steps to secure our southern border. Make no mistake, the Biden administration is to blame for the border crisis.

Funnily enough, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki conceded in early 2021 that illegal immigration was a “big problem.” It isn’t often you hear a Democrat admit that. Psaki, however, got away with it—because she blamed Trump.

“We recognize this is a big problem,” she said during a press conference. “The last administration left us a dismantled and unworkable system and, like any other problem, we are going to do all we can to solve it.”

But did they? Nearly two years later, the answer appears to be no.

In fact, Biden undid most of Trump’s successful border policies shortly after entering office. His administration halted the construction of the border wall, ended the remain in Mexico policy, and terminated asylum agreements with Central American countries.

Moreover, Biden is poised to end the Title 42 program as soon as the courts permit his administration to do so. Title 42 refers to the Public Health Service Act, which has allowed the federal government to deny entry to prospective immigrants coming from countries plagued by disease. Trump implemented this program in March 2020, citing COVID as justification to secure the borders.

So while the Biden administration claims to care about border security, its actions suggest differently.

As such, is it any wonder that border encounters continue to rise? 251,487 in just one month is staggering—especially compared to previous years. In 2019, the worst year in this regard for the Trump administration, there were 50,751 apprehensions at the southern border in December.

Thus far we have been discussing border encounters in monthly terms. When you take a step back and look at the yearly data, however, the situation becomes more alarming.

Millions of illegal immigrants have been apprehended at the border every year since Biden took office, according to analysis from the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

“Some 2.7 million migrants—those who illegally entered or were otherwise inadmissible at a port of entry—were encountered at our borders in FY [Fiscal Year] 2022,” said FAIR President Dan Stein, “bringing the total under President Biden to a whopping 5.5 million.”

Stein also correctly identified the Biden administration’s failed border policies as the cause. “One thing is clear,” said Stein. “These record-breaking numbers are a direct consequence of open-borders policies implemented by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the person who appointed him, President Joe Biden.”

5.5 million border encounters in two years—all thanks to Joe Biden.

The 2019 fiscal year was, as discussed, the worst year for border crossings during Trump’s term in office. Still, even in FY 2019, there were 977,509 apprehensions—not over two million, as has been the case with Biden.

FAIR’s 5.5 million figure includes not only “the 4.4 million nationwide total reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection,” but also the “approximately 1.1 million ‘gotaways’ who have entered the country undetected per agency sources.”

It’s worth noting that this does not mean the 5.5 million illegal immigrants entered America in two years. The 4.4 million figure refers to border apprehensions, not individuals. Many illegals attempt to breach our border multiple times. In the 2021 fiscal year, for example, 27 percent of encounters involved repeat offenders.

So how many people actually make it in? Roughly half. FAIR estimates that “2.4 million were either released by federal authorities or entered the country’s interior undetected.”

Opinions on immigration differ. Personally, I’m quite hawkish on the issue. As Tucker Carlson pointed out, mass immigration entails importing voters for the Democratic Party. Even if the immigrants are perfectly fine people—and I’m sure many are—why would I support a policy that gives more power to the party of cancel culture, vaccine mandates, drag queen story hour, and higher taxes?

Americans should be outraged by the lawlessness at the southern border. And contrary to what Biden officials might say, it’s not Trump who’s to blame—it’s them.

—

Image credit: Flickr-Bruce Detorres, PDM 1.0

ITO