FAIR Analysis: 5.5 Million Illegal Aliens Have Crossed our Borders Since Biden Took Office--How is Secretary Mayorkas Still Employed?

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation for American Immigration Reform issued the following statement, as well as a deeper dive into FY 2022 border numbers, based on data quietly released late Friday night by the Biden administration:

"In typical fashion, the Biden administration attempted to conceal the reality of a historic crisis they created by releasing final FY 2022 border numbers late on a Friday evening, hoping in vain that no one would notice on the eve of consequential midterm elections. After digging through them, we can see why," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"Some 2.7 million migrants—those who illegally entered or were otherwise inadmissible at a port of entry—were encountered at our borders in FY 2022, bringing the total under President Biden to a whopping 5.5 million. One thing is clear: These record-breaking numbers are a direct consequence of open-borders policies implemented by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the person who appointed him, President Joe Biden," charged Stein. "This deliberate sabotage of our nation's immigration laws demands that the president remove Mayorkas from his position immediately. Otherwise, the impeachment of his disgraced cabinet member is sure to be one of the first orders of business in the next Congress."

"Nothing will improve until there is a public servant leading the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) who believes in borders—and secure ones at that. We cannot even begin to reverse this disaster so long as our nation's immigration policies are in the hands of someone who is bent on compounding it. No matter how late at night this administration releases data, the numbers still speak for themselves. President Biden needs to clean house at DHS, and, if he is not prepared to do it, Congress needs to clean it for him, beginning with the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas," Stein concluded.

FAIR Border Snapshot for FY 2022

• Some 2.7 million migrants—those who illegally entered or were otherwise inadmissible at a port of entry—were encountered at our borders in FY 2022.
• 2.2 million of them were apprehended along the southwest border, setting a new record and eclipsing all four years of the Trump administration combined.
• Since President Biden took office, around 5.5 million illegal aliens have crossed our borders—a crisis of epic proportions.
• FAIR's figure contains the 4.4 million nationwide total reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) – which includes around 3.9 million at our southwest border – as well as approximately 1.1 million "gotaways" who have entered the country undetected per agency sources.
• Based on publicly available CBP data, court filings, and "gotaways," FAIR estimates that 2.4 million were either released by federal authorities or entered the country's interior undetected.
• Border Patrol agents encountered 98 known or suspected terrorists in FY 2022. In FY 2021, that number was 15. In FY 2020, it was three and in FY 2019, zero.
• This number only includes known or suspected terrorists who were apprehended, not those embedded in the 1.1 million who evaded law enforcement while entering the country and eventually disappeared into American communities.
• Migrant deaths at the southwest border totaled 856 in FY 2022—the deadliest year on record.
• The amount of fentanyl seized in the last month of the fiscal year is equivalent of more than 414 million lethal doses—bringing the FY 2022 lethal dose total well into the billions.
• More fentanyl has crossed the border in the last two months under President Biden than in all of FY 2019 under President Trump's leadership.

Contact: Ron Kovach, 202-328-7004 or [email protected].

ABOUT FAIR        

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)