Border Encounters Drop from December, January 2022 Still at Record High

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security celebrated the first significant drop of illegal alien encounters at the southern border under the failed leadership of President Biden. However, the White House did not mention that Jan. 2022’s border encounters were still nearly double what they were in Jan. 2021.

In Jan. 2022, Border Patrol encountered 146,942 illegal aliens after crossing the border illegally. In addition, another 6,999 illegal aliens were encountered by agents at Offices of Field Operations (OFO).

BREAKING: In a federal court filing obtained by @FoxNews, DHS reports 153,941 migrant encounters in January, almost doubling Jan. ‘21 (78,414) and more than quadruple Jan. ‘20 (36,585).
DHS also reports 62,573 migrants were released into U.S. just last month alone. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/RiEPKVsQi3

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 16, 2022

The 146,942 illegal aliens encountered at the border last month represent a 13.9% decrease from the total encountered during December of 2021 (170,566). The number of illegal aliens encountered at OFOs also decreased from 8,653 in December 2021.

However, the long-term comparison between same month encounters was buried by the White House’s improper spin of the apparent decrease in alien encounters. One would have to look no further than Customs and Border Protection’s website to find a less spinnable truth – Jan. 2022’s illegal alien encounters were nearly double what they were in Jan. 2021 and almost quadruple what they were in 2020.

The Washington Times reports:

Customs and Border Protection said drug seizures along the U.S.-Mexico boundary also were down, suggesting the total flow is declining. But seizures of fentanyl, the deadly synthetic that’s believed to be killing tens of thousands of Americans each year, surged 57% in January compared with December.

“CBP continues to take important steps to improve our ability to interdict narcotics and keep dangerous drugs off our streets,” Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement announcing the border numbers.

According to Commissioner Magnus’s statement, 8,633 unaccompanied alien minors were encountered by Border Patrol in Jan.; this represents the lowest number recorded for this category since last Jan. Additionally, Border Patrol encountered 30,215 alien family units – this too marks the lowest recorded month for family units since last Jan. However, the number of single adults, particularly from Mexico, surged throughout Jan. 2022.

In total, between Border Patrol encountering aliens along the southern border, and USCBP agents encountering unauthorized aliens at ports of entry, Jan. 2022 saw 153,941 illegal alien encounters.

According to the Washington Times, “Of those, 78,486 were turned back under a pandemic health emergency [Title 42]… Of the remainder, more than 46,000 were caught and released by CBP. More than 16,000 others were transferred from CBP to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and then released.”

For the complete story, please visit The Washington Times.