In January, the Biden administration announced new border enforcement measures aimed at cutting illegal migration and creating a more orderly process for asylum seekers to come to the U.S.
But, a watchdog group says the new enforcement measures aren’t curbing illegal migration. Rather, they are simply re-routing the flow of illegal aliens through ports of entry.
“The Biden administration is blatantly attempting to deceive the American public into believing they have illegal immigration under control,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). “While boasting that ‘only’ 128,877 migrants were encountered by Border Patrol entering between ports of entry in February, OFO encountered 83,389 illegal aliens, and allowed many to enter the country under the administration’s expansive and illegal use of parole authority. The net effect is the same; it just doesn’t look as bad.”
Though a White House fact sheet says it’s new border measures “will expand and expedite legal pathways for orderly migration and result in new consequences for those who fail to use those legal pathways,” CBP personnel say there are no consequences that reduce illegal migration.
CBP head Raul Ortiz told the House Homeland Security Committee this week that a lack of enforcement consequences is driving illegal crossings.
“Law enforcement’s pretty simple,” Ortiz said. “You have to have capacity, and you have to have consequences. And any time you don’t have consequences, you’re certainly going to see some increases.”
Illegal migration numbers are on pace to eclipse the record numbers the U.S. has seen during the tenure of President Joe Biden. The CBP Fiscal Year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept 30. Already, in March 2023, total encounters are higher than FY 17, 18, 19, and 20.
“Even CBP’s efforts to mask the scope of illegal migration by moving 83,389 illegal entries off-the-books, does not tell the full story of the Biden administration’s disastrous border policies,” Stein continued. “The number of people who elude apprehension remains high, while lethal narcotics, including fentanyl, continues to pour across the southern border, where criminal cartels maintain clear ‘mission advantage.'”
Stein added: “No matter how CBP tries to spin it, the February numbers make it clear that the Biden administration is not turning the tide on illegal immigration. And, as the Biden administration is set to end the use of Title 42 in May, the last remaining mechanism in place to turn back migrants at the border, the crisis is likely to get a whole lot worse.”
