FAIR Analysis: The Biden Border Crisis Continues to Get Worse

El Paso migrants border wall

(June 16, 2022, Washington, D.C.) — The Federation for American Immigration Reform issued the following statement, as well as a deeper dive into record-setting May border numbers, based on data released late June 15 by the Biden administration:

“May was a record-setting month for the Biden administration. Record high gas prices, 40-year high inflation numbers, and a record number of illegal aliens encountered at our borders – surpassing the old record set all the way back…in April,” noted Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

“But even the raw number of 239,416 border encounters does not tell the full story. In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended an unprecedented number of criminals, gang members, and lethal drugs pouring across the border that will almost certainly lead to a new record in opioid-related deaths. Safe to say, none of these are the sort of records the American public were looking for when they elected Joe Biden. In fact, the best thing that can be said about the crisis the president has created at the border is that it could have been a whole lot worse if not for the fact the a federal judge blocked President Biden’s plan to end Title 42 last month. And yet, in spite of the mounting disaster, President Biden steadfastly refuses to change any of the policies that truly are the root causes of this crisis,” Stein said.

FAIR Border Snapshot for May 2022

  • Southwest border encounters set another single-month record in May.
  • CBP had 239,416 migrant encounters at the Southwest border in May 2022, including 165,200 single adults, 59,517 family units, and 14,699 unaccompanied minors.
    • 32.6 percent increase from May 2021 (180,597).
    • 930.3 percent increase from May 2020 (33,049).
    • Over 1 in 3 migrants encountered by Border Patrol were single adults.
  • This is the HIGHEST number of monthly encounters in the last two decades.
  • Since President Biden took office, there have been over 2.9 million migrant encounters at the southern border alone.
  • May was the 15th straight month with more than 150,000 encounters
  • CBP expelled only 42 percent of individuals under Title 42 in May 2022, again highlighting the Biden administration’s refusal to fully utilize the public health authority.
    • If Title 42 is eventually terminated, CBP expects up to 18,000 migrant encounters per day.
  • One thing to keep in mind: border encounter numbers do not include those who got away from immigration authorities. CBP sources quietly revealed that there have been 440,000 “known gotaways” at the border since Fiscal Year 2022 began. This already exceeds reports of 390,000 known gotaways in all of Fiscal Year 2021.

Notable Criminal Activity in May 2022

  • The Biden border crisis is much more than migrants seeking asylum –criminals, weapons, and trafficked persons are coming across our border in record numbers.
  • Border Patrol agents arrested two child sex offenders, five MS-13 gang members, and a Paisas gang member together, many of whom had been previously deported from the United States
  • Agents arrested an MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who had been previously arrested in Atlanta in connection with a kidnapping and murder
  • CBP officers seized over $550,000 worth of cocaine at a single port of entry, and later seized more than $1.5 million worth of cocaine at the World Trade Bridge.
  • In Laredo, TX agents shut down a criminal trafficker’s stash house that contained over 60 illegal aliens from Central America 

The Biden Drug Crisis is the Greatest Public Health Threat

  • In May 2022, CBP seized 46,796 pounds of drugs.
  • Fentanyl seizures continue to climb, totaling over 7,700 pounds since the start of the fiscal year.
    • According to the CDC, the U.S. recently recorded its highest number of drug-overdose deaths in a 12-month period, eclipsing 108,000 for the first time.
  • Since January, CBP has seized over 21,200 pounds of cocaine. 
  • Methamphetamine seizures are on the rise – CBP has seized nearly 120,000 pounds of meth in just 8 months.

Contact: Preston Huennekens, 202-328-7004 or phuennekens@fairus.org