Under Biden, more than 7 million migrants have entered the US β more than the population of 36 individual states
According to new figures, more than seven million migrants have managed to cross the southern border under President Biden.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show that 961,537 border conflicts have been reported this fiscal year alone.
The year, which runs from October to September, is already at its current pace, breaking last year’s record of 2,475,669.
Since Biden took office, the total number of encounters at the southwestern land border has reached a staggering 7,298,486.
The total does not include the estimated 1.8 million known “escapees” who managed to evade law enforcement.
That number is larger than the individual populations of 36 states, including Alabama, Colorado, Maryland, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
Migrants cross the border to be received and processed by Customs and Border Protection and have their asylum application assessed
Since Biden took office, the total number of encounters at the southwestern land border has reached a staggering 7,298,486. Pictured: Migrants cross the US-Mexico border under barbed wire on February 6, 2024
This figure represents approximately 18.7 percent of California’s population of 39 million, 23.9 percent of the state of Texas with its 31 million residents and 37.3 percent of New York.
In December, a new record was broken when it was announced that more than 300,000 migrants had crossed in that month – more than the highest number ever recorded.
Just days after taking office, Biden immediately reversed several Trump-era restrictions.
While warning that he would enforce immigration laws, he maintained a Trump policy called Title 42, which allowed authorities to quickly expel border crossers.
The Biden administration subsequently announced that it would not use Title 42 to return unaccompanied minors who arrived without a parent or guardian.
The numbers began to rise almost immediately, and Title 42 ended last May, with 10,000 people flooding into the country.
If Trump is elected to another term, he has promised that he would prioritize re-tightening the southern border.
The Republican front-runner said that with him at the helm, there would be “the largest domestic deportation” in American history.
Just days after taking office, Biden immediately reversed several Trump-era restrictions
An aerial view of people passing through barbed wire after crossing the US-Mexico border into El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 1, 2024
Migrants attempt to cross the Mexico-United States border despite increased security measures in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on February 1, 2024
Eric Ruark, director of research at Numbers USA, a nonprofit that advocates for immigration restrictions, said Fox news: ‘This unprecedented increase in illegal immigration is no coincidence.
βIt is the result of deliberate policy choices by the Biden administration.β
These numbers come as the president is now considering executive action to increase standards for processing and screening asylum seekers at the border.
Biden is considering bypassing Congress and taking unilateral action to make it harder for migrants to pass the initial asylum screening interview.
Biden’s order, officials familiar with the deliberations told NBC News, would also allow for faster deportations of recently arrived migrants who do not meet these stricter criteria.
The new policy would direct asylum officials to raise standards for βcredible fear interviews,β which assess whether migrants should reasonably fear for their lives or safety in the countries they have fled.
In addition, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be told to implement a “last in, first out” policy, prioritizing recently arrived migrants for deportation, officials revealed.
Trump wants to model a new immigration model based on a program under President Dwight D. Eisenhower known as ‘Operation Wetback’
Trump wants to model a new immigration model based on a program under President Dwight D. Eisenhower known as βOperation Wetback,β a derogatory slur used to refer to a Mexican living in the U.S. without official permission.
This program used military tactics to round up and remove migrants working in the US
Trump promises that if he becomes president again, he will immediately launch a similar program that would lead to “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: βAmericans can expect that immediately upon his return to the Oval Office, President Trump will restore all of his previous policies and implement brand new crackdowns that will send shockwaves through the world’s criminal smugglers. and marshal every federal and state force necessary to launch the largest deportation operation in American history.β
Some argue that military roundups and deportations would hamper detention spaces, but Trump and his team have said they would sidestep this problem by building mass deportation camps.