In September 2023, Biden Administration Sets Two Dubious Records: Highest Monthly and Highest Annual Border Encounters in History, Says FAIR

The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to today's release of Customs and Border Protection border encounters data for September:

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "The release of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) nationwide encounters for September, FY 2023, shattered a record set just last year for the number of aliens encountered illegally entering our country. At the same time, September set the single-month record for border encounters breaking the previous record set in August. Yet, despite these staggering numbers, the Biden administration continues to insist that our borders are secure and the American public has no reason to be concerned.

"In total, there were 341,392 illegal aliens encountered in September, the highest monthly tally on record. Breaking down the numbers further, the number of migrants encountered crossing the southwest border illegally numbered 269,735 – an increase of nearly 40,000 over August. Encounters of family units jumped to 141,306, while the number of unaccompanied children stood at 13,809. These totals do not include 'gotaways,' which have averaged more than 50,000 per month during the first 32 months of the Biden administration.

"September also closed the books on FY 2023. Total encounters for the year were 3,201,144, an increase of nearly 500,000 over the previous year and a nearly fivefold increase over FY 2020, the last full year of the Trump administration. This exponential increase in illegal immigration makes it clear that it is the open-borders policies of the Biden administration that are driving this national crisis.

"The events of the past two weeks draw into even sharper focus just how dangerous our unsecured borders are. This month's terrorist attacks against Israel, and threats of 'global jihad' issued by Hamas and their overlords in Tehran, mean that the open-borders policies of the Biden administration have placed the American public at greater risk than at any time since 9/11.

"It is more urgent than ever that Congress step in and retake its plenary control over immigration policy.  We must reverse the administration's open-borders policies, end the humanitarian crisis it has created, secure our borders, and focus its attention on finding and removing people who have entered illegally."

Contact: Joey Chester, 202-742-1827, jchester@fairus.org

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SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)