On a Record Run, ‘Gotaways’ Like Their Chances to Stay in U.S.

Another month, another record. Some 73,000 illegal aliens evaded Border Patrol agents in November, the most ever recorded at the southern border.

While border “encounters” are up, too, that category broadly includes persons who may be detained, removed or admitted into the country. “Gotaways,” on the other hand, are all in. And with interior enforcement suffering an epic collapse under the Biden administration, odds are they’re in for good.

Gotaways, illegal aliens who are detected but not caught, now number 137,000 since Oct. 1 (the beginning of the 2023 fiscal year). On pace to shatter 2022’s record of nearly 600,000 gotaways, the November total means an average of at least 2,400 illegal border crossers evade apprehension every day.

Texas has formed a task force – including dogs and drones – in an attempt to catch up. On a recent morning, the new unit apprehended 50 gotaways, along with a scout brandishing an AK-47. The Texas team is doing commendable work, but until Washington makes a comparable commitment, a single unit working one location presents only an isolated speed bump to gotaways all along America’s 2,000-mile southern border.

Once in the U.S., gotaways’ chances remain favorable, as deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have dropped precipitously. Noting the sharp decline in removals of even violent criminal aliens, a FAIR report concluded, “The Biden administration has effectively abolished the mission of ICE.”

Having ditched Border Patrol agents, gotaways’ predilection for evasion and lawbreaking presents a challenge for even a functional interior enforcement program. Gotaways’ daily success at evasion ensures that more will come.