Despite recent fanfare about President Biden’s border policies, he has overseen an illegal immigration crisis bigger than anything seen under former President Trump, according to data from Customs and Border Protection.
Members of the Biden administration have touted the relatively low number of border apprehensions in June. According to CBP data: Illegal immigration surged after President Biden took office in January 2021 and has not decreased since then.
CBP recorded 408,870 border crossings in fiscal year 2016, when former President Trump took office after making illegal immigration a central part of his campaign. The number remained relatively stable during his term, dropping to 303,916 in fiscal year 2017, before rising again to 396,579 in fiscal year 2018.
But his administration saw a big surge in 2019, with cases doubling to 851,508, then rising again Back to 400,651 In 2020.
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President Biden’s administration has touted recent declines in illegal border crossings to counter former President Trump’s immigration policies, but data from the Biden era tells a different story. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
While the Trump administration struggled to stem the influx of illegal immigrants, the numbers are tiny compared to the tsunami of migrants that began streaming across the border just a month after Biden took office, data shows.
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CBP’s monthly records for 2021 show that border apprehensions held steady in the low 70,000s from October through January, before surging to 101,099 in February data and 173,277 in March. By July, CBP officers were apprehending more than 200,000 migrants a month, a figure that will likely become the new normal for much of the Biden administration.
Data shows illegal immigration remained relatively stable under former President Trump but increased significantly after Biden took office. (Felipe Ramares for Fox News Digital)
Overall, the number of people crossing the border soared to 1,734,686 in Biden’s first year in office, more than four times the number from the previous year and more than double the number from Trump’s worst year on record. But that’s not all.
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Border apprehensions continue to rise and are expected to reach 2.4 million in 2022 and 2.5 million in 2023. CBP has already apprehended 1.8 million people with three months left in the fiscal year and is on track to reach similar numbers in 2024.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other Biden-Harris administration officials have pointed to the relatively low number of arrests in June – 130,419 – as evidence of success. Biden took steps in early June to halt the processing of asylum claims, an effort that was welcomed by his allies.
Vice President Kamala Harris with migrants at the southern border. (Getty Images)
“The president has issued new, strong executive orders to secure the border. Illegal crossings have fallen by more than 50 percent. And the president acted without Congress. 50 percent. We are lower now than we were in 2019 and lower than when the previous president left office,” Jean-Pierre said at a press conference last week.
The comparison between June 2024 and June 2019, while technically correct, is misleading given that 2024’s total is already more than double 2019’s.
Comparisons with President Trump’s withdrawal are also misleading, as the June 2024 total is only lower than March 2021, when border crossings surged to more than 170,000 for the first time.
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Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, blasted the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies during a visit to Arizona on Thursday, mocking Harris’ nickname “border czar” and pledging reforms for both Trump and himself if elected.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) addresses media during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Hereford, Arizona, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Grace Trejo/Arizona Daily Star via The Associated Press)
“What’s happening on the southern border is unbelievable, and it’s because Kamala Harris isn’t doing her job,” Vance said. “We must end capture and release, force asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their claims are processed, complete the border wall, and resume deportations.”
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“If people can come into this country and know they will never be deported, then we effectively have an open border. That’s what Kamala Harris promised and that’s what she’s delivered,” he added.
