Migrant numbers at the southern border have broken a new record, with this fiscal year outpacing last year’s already record numbers — just as the southern border is being hit by a new border-wide surge.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources confirmed to Fox News that migrant encounters for Fiscal Year 2023 to date have already surpassed FY 22’s record numbers.
In Fiscal Year FY 22, there were 2,378,944 encounters at the southern border. So far in FY 23, with eight days left to go, there have been 2,338,350 encounters.
DHS TO OFFER WORK PERMITS, DEPORTATION PROTECTION TO OVER 470,000 VENEZUELANS AMID NEW BORDER SURGE
There have been a daily average of around 9,000 encounters in recent days as numbers have again surged at the border since July. In Eagle Pass, Texas, thousands of Venezuelan migrants surged into the area across the river, gathering under a nearby bridge — which forced a temporary shutdown of two bridges as agents struggled to cope.
Meanwhile, in the El Paso Sector there have been three confirmed cases of Tuberculosis further complicated the task agents are facing in managing the migrant numbers they are facing.
There were around 144,000 migrant encounters in June after a lull after the expiration of the Title 42 public health order in May. Since then numbers have rocketed up to approximately 232,000 in August, Customs and Border Protection stated on Friday afternoon.
Multiple Border Patrol Sectors have been conducting street releases to relieve overcrowding, while leadership has set targets for “bookouts” as they struggle to deal with arrivals.
THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET
It deals another blow to the Biden administration, which had touted the post-Title 42 decline in numbers as proof that its strategy — which centers around re-establishing consequences for illegal entry while also expanding “lawful” migration pathways including via an increased use of parole to allow migrants to enter the U.S. — was working.
Republicans have hammered the administration for the crisis, arguing that the “open border” policies of the administration — including reduced interior enforcement and the roll-back of Trump-era border policies — have fueled the crisis.
The administration has said that it is dealing with a Hemisphere-wide challenge, which needs more funding from Congress – including a recent $4 billion request by the White House — as well as the passage of an immigration reform bill to fix what it says is a “broken” system.
This week the administration announced a number of measures, including increased capacity at CBP facilities, more personnel heading to the border and a redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela — which will grant protection from deportation and work permits to around 470,000 nationals.
