Border Encounters Soar in November Congress Must Act to End the Crisis, Says FAIR

The following statement on the release of November border encounter data was released by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR):

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --"The Biden Border Crisis continued to rage out of control in November, with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reporting total nationwide encounters of 308,728 people attempting to enter the United States illegally. This crisis, precipitated by the deliberate policies of this administration, is not only unsustainable – it threatens the security of the United States and the American people.

"November marked the fourth consecutive month that total encounters topped 300,000, putting us on pace for some 3.6 million encounters for FY 2024. In just the first two months of this fiscal year, we have nearly exceeded total encounters for all of FY 2020. Without dramatic action to change course, total nationwide encounters on track to reach 11.5 million, not including an additional 2.2 million 'gotaways' by the end of President Biden's term next January.

"Our unsecured borders and flagrant abuse of our asylum policies and parole come at a time of heightened concerns to our national security. FBI Director Christopher Wray recently testified before Congress that he sees 'blinking red lights everywhere [he] turns,' and that 'all the threats are elevated at the same time.' Despite these dire warnings, the Biden administration refuses to secure our borders, making it all the more imperative that Congress act.

"Congress has that opportunity now. President Biden is requesting a supplemental foreign aid package to help Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan protect their security. Republicans are justifiably demanding that that aid be coupled with real border security for the United States, particularly at a time of elevated threats of terrorism against our nation. Such legislation has already been passed in the House of Representatives in the form of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act.

The November CBP data and the record-setting encounters of more than 12,000 illegal aliens in a single day earlier this month make it clear that Congress must force President Biden and his administration to secure our borders by including H.R. 2 in the foreign aid bill. Moving the foreign aid package forward with a mere framework of a deal or half-measures that depend on the good faith of an administration that deliberately created the crisis at our border, would squander Congress' best opportunity to end it."

Contact: Joey Chester, 202-742-1827, [email protected] 

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)