The month of August saw an all time record high of migrant families crossing into the United States from Mexico. According to preliminary data obtained by The Washington Post, data shows border apprehensions have risen more than 30 percent for two consecutive months; the influx resulted in the U.S. Border Patrol arresting at least 91,000 migrants who crossed as part of a family group in August. Families were the single largest demographic group crossing the border in August, surpassing single adults for the first time since Biden took office. Previously, it was single adults that held the record.
The Border Patrol made more than 177,000 arrests along the Mexico border in August, up from 132,652 in July and 99,539 in June. Erin Heeter, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said the Biden administration is trying to slow illegal entries by expanding lawful options and also stiffening penalties. The government ramped up deportation flights carrying families in August, she said, and since May has repatriated more than 17,000 parents and children who recently crossed the border in a family group.
“But as with every year, the U.S. is seeing ebbs and flows of migrants arriving fueled by seasonal trends and the efforts of smugglers to use disinformation to prey on vulnerable migrants and encourage migration,” Heeter said in a statement.
The Washington Post,reports:
Family groups have been an Achilles’ heel for U.S. immigration enforcement for over a decade. Most migrants in that category who are detained by Border Patrol agents are quickly released and allowed to live and work in the United States while their humanitarian claims are pending. Backlogged U.S. immigration courts typically take several years to reach a decision, and the process rarely ends in deportation, federal data show.
National Review reports that more than half a million migrants who arrived as part of “family member units” have now surrendered at the border this fiscal year, breaking yet another record.
National Review writes of the policies leading to the problematic numbers:
The Biden administration is allowing up to 1,450 migrants per day to schedule an appointment to enter the country lawfully using a mobile app. Customs and Border Patrol encountered about 230,000 migrants at the border last month, the highest one-month total in 2023 so far.
Another program put in place by the administration allows roughly 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to obtain authorization to live and work in the United States for two years if they have a financial sponsor and clear background checks. The parole program allows applicants to enter the U.S. via flight, rather than crossing at the border.
