The Biden-Harris administration, alongside Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, has faced intense scrutiny over what critics are calling the worst border crisis in U.S. history. Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the U.S. has witnessed a surge in illegal border crossings, leading to what many describe as a national security, public safety, and humanitarian disaster.
According to a new report from the House Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), over 8.2 million encounters with inadmissible individuals have been recorded at the Southwest border since February 2021.
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When factoring in all U.S. borders and ports of entry, the number exceeds 10.1 million. This unprecedented influx has been linked to the administration’s rollback of Trump’s border security measures, resulting in overwhelmed Border Patrol agents and an open-borders agenda.
The report reveals that during the Biden administration’s first full month in office, there were 101,099 encounters at the Southwest border. Since then, the numbers have remained consistently high, with monthly encounters exceeding 100,000. In 19 months, there have been over 200,000 such encounters, and CBP estimates that more than 11.6 million encounters could be recorded by the end of the Biden-Harris term—a 274% increase from the years 2017-2020.
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green emphasized the long-term consequences, stating, “Even if not one more inadmissible alien crossed our borders for the remainder of Biden and Harris’ term, the damage they have already allowed into our country will take decades to remedy.”
The administration’s border policies have also enriched transnational criminal organizations, such as Mexican drug cartels, which are profiting from drug trafficking and human smuggling.
Fentanyl continues to flood across the border, wreaking havoc on American communities and contributing to the growing national opioid crisis. Additionally, the rise in violent crimes committed by illegal aliens has been documented across all 50 states.
As the crisis deepens, the strain on American cities and states has grown. Resources such as schools, healthcare facilities, and law enforcement agencies are being pushed to their limits as they contend with the surge in illegal immigration.
Some states, like Texas, have declared states of disaster in response to the situation. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that the threats posed by illegal immigration “are affecting every state.”
Read: Terror Threats To The Homeland At A Whole Other Level: FBI Director Christopher Wray
New York City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli echoed the sentiment in his September 2023 testimony to the House Committee on Homeland Security, saying, “The Biden team ran on changing border policy. They came in and made changes, and now almost two years later, we can unequivocally say things have gotten absolutely worse, not just for New York, but for the rest of the country.”
The American public appears to agree. Polls show that nearly two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of immigration, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average.
Critics argue that the administration’s policies have turned every state into a border state, and every town into a border town. The human, economic, and security consequences of the crisis are expected to resonate for years to come.
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