CBP Has Encountered More Than One Million Illegal Aliens as of June

On July 16, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released data detailing the Southwest border encounters (formerly known as apprehensions) made for June. The data show border authorities encountered 188,829 illegal aliens last month, putting the United States at more than one million encounters for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. June’s alarming figures are the most for that month in more than 21-years.

According to CBP, of the 188,829 migrants detained in June, 104,907 or 55 percent were expelled thanks to the continued use of Title 42. Also, single adults comprised 62 percent of encounters made last month, countering the commonly-touted myth that most of those entering the country are families who are looking to protect their children.

The data also show that 34 percent of last month’s encounters had at least one prior encounter in the past 12 months, more than doubling the average one-year recounter rate of 14 percent between FY’s 2014-2019. Judging by the recidivism rate for unlawful entry into the United States, President Biden’s immigration policies are encouraging more illegal aliens to make multiple illegal entries into the country.

The frequency and magnitude of illegal aliens arrested at the border during the winter months, typically known as the “slower season,” should have served as a glaring warning to the Biden administration to implement sound immigration policies before the busier summer months began. May’s record-breaking 180,034 encounters should have been reason enough to end the multitude of policies that have attracted migrants to exploit our border.

Encounters have risen every month this fiscal year since the 46th president took office. Yet despite concerns from Border Patrol officials and local enforcement of a larger surge this summer, no meaningful action has been taken by his administration to stop the southern border from being flooded by illegal migration. Even Democratic members of Congress have called for President Biden to rein in the chaos along the border.

With three months left in FY 2021, this border crisis is primed to attain unprecedented figures. The administration must fix this self-inflicted crisis before border authorities and communities are completely overwhelmed.