August Nationwide Encounters Top 300,000, Highest on Record

More than three weeks into September, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finally released its border encounter data for August. All it took is a quick glance at the numbers to understand why they were trying so hard to hide the harsh reality from the American public. 

The data revealed that 304,162 illegal migrants were encountered attempting to enter the United States in August, the highest total for any month on record. Moreover, this unprecedented single-month surge occurred during a month in which temperatures along the southern border regularly hit triple digits. 

With the onset of fall and more temperate weather conditions, and no indication on the part of the Biden administration that it will change course, it is likely that even greater numbers of illegal aliens will surge across our borders in the coming months. And, indeed, preliminary estimates issued by the government of Mexico for the first half of September indicated that August’s dubious record will be short-lived. 

After taking credit for reductions in illegal alien encounters along the Southwest border after canceling Title 42 – the COVID-era provision that allowed for the prompt expulsion of some migrants – illegal crossings have come roaring back. In August, DHS reported 232,972 encounters between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, an increase of some 50,000 over July. 

Encounters of family units jumped to 116,721 in August, the highest in four years, while the number of unaccompanied children increased to 14,259. Under Biden administration policies, virtually all of these families and unaccompanied children are quickly released into the United States. Even before the September data was tallied, total encounters for FY 2023 had reached 2,860,127, which had already eclipsed the totals for FY 2022. When September’s numbers are included, it is certain that the FY 2023 encounters will exceed 3 million, not including hundreds of thousands of ‘gotaways.’