FAIR: While Congress Dithers, February Border Encounter Numbers Soar
The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) regarding today’s release of border encounter data for February:
(March 22, 2024, Washington, D.C.) “On the same day that Congress is poised to enact the FY 2024 federal budget with no language to curtail illegal immigration, Customs and Border Protection released border encounter data for February. Nationwide encounters of illegal aliens entering the United States, once again topped a quarter of a million last month – an increase of more than 42,000 such encounters over February 2023, and the greatest number for any February on record. FY 2024 is on track to shatter last year’s record of 3.2 million nationwide encounters.
“Based on recent comments by impeached DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, some 85 percent of those encountered along the southwest border were likely released into the country, joining the millions who are already overwhelming cities and communities all across the nation.
“In addition to the staggering number of recorded encounters, 256,094 in all, DHS continues to abuse parole authority. According to the February data, 42,100 illegal aliens were processed at ports of entry using the CBP One phone app. Additionally, DHS continues to grant parole to 30,000 inadmissible aliens each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
“It is not just the sheer numbers that are alarming. Illegal aliens are arriving in large numbers from countries where it is impossible to adequately vet people who might have criminal backgrounds, connections to criminal gangs, or associations with terrorist groups.
“While President Biden used the State of the Union address earlier this month to claim he lacks the authority to enforce our immigration laws, the February data seem to indicate that he is inventing plenty of ways to circumvent them. And, while the Biden administration continues to jeopardize the interests and security of the American people, Congress has once again failed to act.”
Contact: Ira Mehlman, 213-700-0407 or [email protected].