Migrants Encounters in August Have Increased Significantly Since the Same Time in 2020

America’s migration crisis is no joke.

According to numbers from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were over 200,000 migrant encounters in the month of August. This marked the second consecutive month where this number has been north of 200,000 migrants. This comes during a time when there has been a significant border rush.

According to a Fox News report, there were 208,887 migrant encounters in August. This figure is a 317% increase when compared to August 2020 when there were 50,014 encounters. Similarly, it represents a 233% increase from August 2019, when there was 62,707 during the border crisis that year 

Of the apprehensions made in August, 49% of them involved single adults, which was a 7% decrease from July. In addition, 44% of migrants kicked out through the use of Title 42 public health protections that the Trump administration implemented and that the Biden administration has nominally maintained. 

The Biden administration has turned back single adults and a few migrant families per this order that came about because of the Wuhan virus outbreak, but it has not been expelling unaccompanied minors or migrant families with young children.

“The men and women at CBP continue to step up to meet the demands of high numbers of encounters at our southern border,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller noted in a statement. “CBP recorded 2 percent fewer encounters in August than July. The vast majority of single adults encountered in August, along with a substantial share of families, continued to be expelled under the CDC’s Title 42 authority.”

Republicans have rightfully criticized the Biden administration for its rollback of border construction projects and the Migrant Protection Protocols (Remain in Mexico) that keeps migrants in Mexico as they wait for their immigration hearings. On top of that, the Biden administration has limited the scope of actions interior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can take with regards to dealing with migrants and enthusiastically pushed for granting illegal aliens already living in the country amnesty. On top of that, the Biden administration has been allowing migrants to flee into the interior, processing unaccompanied minors to sponsors already in the country and releasing migrant families. 

John Roberts and Adam Shaw of Fox News noted that “The Biden administration has pushed back, blaming the Trump administration for sealing off legal pathways to asylum, while emphasizing the role that root causes — like poverty, violence and corruption in Central America — play in encouraging migrants to travel north.”

The election of Donald Trump, regardless of the obstacles his administration faced once he was in power, was a watershed moment. It marked the first time an immigration patriot won the presidency. For the first time, immigration restriction entered the mainstream political consciousness and certain policies like the construction of a border wall, the implementation of Remain in Mexico, and the temporary moratorium on immigration during the Wuhan virus pandemic became important public policy items.

This has been all reversed since Joe Biden was installed in office. Nevertheless, we cannot give up. Liberty conservatives must continue taking up the mantle of immigration restriction and pressing hard during the 2022 elections and beyond. The national question is the most important issue of our time, and if we lose here, we will lose every other issue that matters — free speech, right to bear arms, and limited government.