In the nearly three years of President Joe Biden's administration, the number of migrants crossing the southern border exceeded eight million, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reports, nearly two million more than the White House reports.
Fiscal year 2023, which ended September 30, ended with 3,201,144 entries of undocumented immigrants. Of these, 2,061,723 are single adults, 993,947 are part of families, 137,992 are unaccompanied minors and 7,482 are accompanied children.
The month of September recorded the highest number of 341,392 migrants, representing more than 11,000 daily entries. A situation that keeps the border authorities on tenterhooks and has to neglect other border security issues in order to cope with the avalanche of migration.
In October there was a decrease to 309,221 migrants, i.e. more than 10,000 migrants per day. Although this figure is down 11% compared to September, it is considered extremely high.
CBP estimates that 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who entered the United States undetected are unknown to authorities. The information was provided to Congress. Republican lawmakers expressed concerns that he posed a threat to the country's security.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green accused Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of “causing the worst border crisis in the history of the United States.”
According to CBP data, a total of 736 terrorism suspects were held at the border in fiscal year 2023, or more than 60 per month, an average of two per day. In October, 42 terror suspects were discovered.
On this issue, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray said during a congressional hearing that this group of people is of great concern: “I think that every time there is a group of people in the “We don’t know enough about what we don’t know enough about in the United States and that worries us.”
Stuck suitcases and long waiting times
The total number of cases in immigration courts exceeds three million. The number is 3,075,248. According to the Transactional Records Information and Access Center (TRAC) at Syracuse University, 1,070,328 of these are asylum claims.
The number of immigration judges appointed to the country's 64 courts also increased from 650 to 732.
On average, millions of asylum seekers in the United States must wait 10 years to at least be heard or have their immigration status updated. Meanwhile, the backlog of cases in immigration courts continues to grow rapidly.
The crisis is so great that New York City is struggling to find housing for thousands of migrants, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered asylum seekers to “return in March 2033,” according to Democratic lawmaker Henry Cuellar, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a recent hearing.
The wait is six years shorter in nine other cities, with appointments scheduled for March 2027: San Antonio, Miramar and Jacksonville in Florida, Los Angeles, Florida, Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington DC, Denver and Mount Laurel in New Jersey.
After this waiting period, the cases are processed by immigration courts, a process that can take another four years.
Lawyer Isadora Velázquez told DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS that the waiting time for asylum hearings – assigned to migrants who enter the country legally or are not in deportation proceedings for some reason and decide to apply for asylum – “is between six and lasts six months”. and on average seven years, but in some places it may take longer, in others less, it depends on the local office.”
Biden's immigration programs
On the other hand, tens of thousands of migrants have come to the United States through the various immigration programs that the Democratic administration has launched to reverse migration.
These programs include humanitarian parole for citizens of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, family reunification, the CBP One online application for migrants entering through the Mexican border, and safe mobility in countries such as Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala as well the others for Colombians and Ecuadorians do not appear to be having the expected impact as more undocumented migrants arrive at the border, according to CBP records.
Cost
“The annual cost of just caring for and housing the illegal immigrants released into the country under Mayorka’s leadership could be a staggering $451 billion,” according to a November filing by the House Homeland Security Committee Representatives' report.
The high costs incurred by taxpayers include, among other things, medical care, education, food, housing and the provision of personnel necessary to apply the law to immigrants, the report said.
“Every day, millions of American taxpayer dollars are spent on costs directly related to illegal immigration and the unprecedented crisis at the southern border caused by Secretary Mayorkas’ policies,” the 49-page report said.
“Only a small portion is reclaimed from taxes paid by undocumented aliens; the remainder is on U.S. citizens and legal residents.”
A recent study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a nonpartisan organization, believes these funds should be used to improve the conditions of veterans, the elderly and those without health insurance.
“The Biden administration should ensure that public benefits are available to vulnerable Americans without encouraging their use by foreign citizens,” he added.
A crisis that is getting worse
The number of migrants continues to increase, leading to flooding in the border area; on average, 10,000 to 12,000 migrants cross the border every day. The government has reportedly closed two railroad crossings in border towns in Texas due to the migration surge because authorities lack the capacity to handle the crisis.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are tying the additional request for help for Urania to continue its fight against the Russian invasion from approving border security funds.
Migrants often board trains to get to the United States. There are trains loaded with goods that are stopped. The closure of the two railway crossings could cause economic losses of around $200 million per day.
Closing the roads would allow customs officials to support busy Border Patrol agents dealing with migrants.
Thousands of asylum seekers who have crossed the border are sleeping outside, waiting for overwhelmed federal officials to process them. The majority apply for political asylum, which is the argument with which they are allowed to enter the USA.
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