Migrant Encounters At The Border Have Nearly Doubled Since Biden Took Office

The number of migrants encountered at the southern border in January nearly doubled that of January 2021, when President Joe Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported Friday.

CBP agents encountered 153,941 migrants in January, according to an agency press release, nearly twice the 78,414 migrants encountered in January 2021.

“CBP’s January Monthly Operational Update shows migratory flows decreased in January, with CBP personnel encountering 14 percent fewer individuals along the Southwest border than December. Most encounters in January were of single adults and a majority were expelled under Title 42,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in the press release.

“Overall illegal narcotic seizures decreased, though there was a substantial increase of fentanyl interdictions. CBP continues to take important steps to improve our ability to interdict narcotics and keep dangerous drugs off our streets,” Magnus said.

CBP noted that the number of expulsions during the pandemic caused many migrants to attempt to cross into the U.S. multiple times. Out of the total encounters, CBP encountered 111,437 new migrants who hadn’t previously attempted to cross, an 18% decrease from December 2021.

Compared to December, encounters in January represented a 14% decrease. And of the total January encounters, 26% had at least one previous CBP interaction in the last year.

Single adults constituted 73% of the migrants encountered in January, and agents encountered just 8,777 unaccompanied children, a 26% decrease from December. Border agents also encountered 31,795 family unit individuals, a 39% decrease from December.

A total of 78,486 migrants were processed for expulsion under the Title 42 public health order, and 75,455 were processed under Title 8.