September Border Crossings To Set New Record, Internal DHS Data Show

September Border Crossings To Set New Record, Internal DHS Data Show

Joseph Simonson • September 30, 2022 3:40 pm

Migrant border crossings are on pace for a record-breaking September, preliminary Department of Homeland Security data obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Customs and Border Protection recorded an average of 7,300-7,500 daily migrant encounters at the southwest border by the end of September.

Those averages come out to between 219,000 to 225,000 for the month. Any sum within that range constitutes the worst September for migrant border crossings in U.S. history, a review of public CBP data finds. September 2021 saw 192,000 border crossings, which held the previous record for the worst September in history.

The data come as red-state governors grow increasingly frustrated with President Joe Biden’s response to the border crisis. Govs. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) and Greg Abbott (R., Texas) began sending migrants to predominantly Democratic-voting cities and towns, such as Martha’s Vineyard and Chicago, in recent months in an attempt to bring attention to the White House’s lack of progress in controlling illegal immigration.

"These record-breaking numbers we're seeing at the border have become the new normal," a senior DHS official told the Free Beacon. "The question is how much worse will it get?"

CBP did not respond to a request for comment.

The end of September also marks the end of the 2022 fiscal year. Fox News reported that total migrant encounters for the 2022 fiscal year crossed two million, the highest number ever recorded in U.S. history.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off criticisms of the administration’s handling of the border crisis earlier this month. When asked how to explain the flood of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers entering through the southwest border, Jean-Pierre said the White House has "taken unprecedented action over the past year and a half to secure our border and rebuild a safer and orderly process system."

We agree that the border is secure, but there is still more work to be done," Jean-Pierre said.

Americans regularly rank the border crisis as a top issue of concern, polling shows. A survey in August found a majority of Americans believe the United States is facing an "invasion" on the southern border.

September Border Crossings To Set New Record, Internal DHS Data Show (freebeacon.com)