Another Record-Setting Number of Illegal Border Crossings in September

Migrants are grouped together while waiting to be processed on the Ciudad Juarez side of the border, in El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 21, 2023. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded more than 260,000 illegal immigrant crossings at the southern border, marking an all-time high in a single month.

The record-setting figure is the highest monthly number ever reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), officials told Fox News. The second-highest number recorded was last December when CBP reported 252,320 migrant encounters along the southern border.

“The U.S. hit ANOTHER yearly high for illegal border crossings. Biden’s refusal to secure the border has disastrous consequences. His open border policies encourage record numbers of illegal crossings. Texas is the only one stepping up to repel them,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X earlier this week.

Once the September numbers are finalized, the 2023 fiscal year (FY) total is expected to top 2.4 million, surpassing last year’s record 2.3 million.

Since 2021, the nation has seen continued record numbers of illegal immigrants flooding across the border during President Joe Biden’s administration.

“Joe Biden’s policies at the southern border are utterly defensible. We are seeing the highest rate of illegal immigration in U.S. history under his watch,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on X on Sept. 28.

During FY 2022, more than 2.3 million illegal immigrants were encountered, up from 1.73 million in 2021, marking a 37 percent jump year over year, according to CBP data. The FY runs from Oct. 1 through Sept 30.

Between Oct. 1, 2019, to Sept. 30, 2020., there were 458,000 illegal immigrants encountered by border patrol agents under former President Donald Trump.

Republican ‘Political Stunt’

But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has denied that Mr. Biden’s policies are to blame for the influx of illegal immigrants that are crippling resources in small border towns as well as big cities across the nation.

She has accused the Republicans of turning the border issue into a “political stunt” while the president is working to do everything possible to handle the situation.

“What I’m saying is that the president, without the help—without the help of Republicans, is doing everything he can to deal with the border.” Ms. Jean-Pierre told White House reporters on Monday.

“While Republicans try to push forth a CR [continuing resolution] to limit—to take away the federal—the federal agents that we see at the border. That’s what he’s trying to do.

“They’re trying to politicize it and make it worse—make it worse,” she continued, referring to Congress’s efforts to avoid a government shutdown. “That’s what Republicans are trying to do and turn it into a political stunt. The president is actually dealing with the issue that’s in front of him by getting record funding, 25,000 against at the border. That is something this president has been able to do.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre claims that the Biden administration has accomplished three things, including “enforcement,” “deterrence,” and “diplomacy” regarding its efforts to handle the border crisis.

In addressing enforcement, she said the administration had deployed additional troops and federal agents to the southern border and returned more than 250,000 illegal immigrants since May.

“And deterrence, we’ve had the largest expansion of pathways in decades,” the press secretary continued. “And we’ve made clear that attempting to cross the border unlawfully will result in prompt removal, a five-year ban on re-entry and potential criminal prosecution.”

Ms. Jean-Pierre said the president has addressed diplomacy with Mexico as it relates to “unlawful migration.”

‘Zero’ Removals

Last week, during Elon Musk’s visit to Eagle Pass near the Texas-Mexico border, Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) told the billionaire that the flow of migrants crossing illegally into the U.S. is “non-stop, all day long.”

In the Del Rio sector, there are 2,500 immigrants entering Texas illegally every day, and “zero” are being returned to their country of origin, Mr. Gonzales said.

“No repercussions,” he continued. “So what kind of signal does that send to the rest of the world?”

Mr. Abbott says Texas’ efforts to repel illegal immigrant crossings are being undermined by Mr. Biden’s border policies.

“[The border crisis] is chaos, it’s a catastrophe, and it’s a byproduct of Joe Biden’s open border policies,” Mr. Abbott explained during an interview with Fox Business News’ Maria Bartiroma on Sept. 27. “Last year was an all-time record of illegal crossings. This year will set another all-time record of illegal crossings.

“Americans have had it. Texas is stepping up to do everything we can by putting up these razor wire border barriers to prevent people from coming in only to have President Biden’s staff cut those razor wires and allow people to illegally enter our country.”