US Arrests Along Mexico Border Exceed 2M in FY22

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Facts

  • On Monday, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released data showing that the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants along the US southwestern border has reached an all-time one-year-high, topping 2M in the 2022 fiscal year – which ends on Sept. 30.
  • Figures indicate a one-year migrant death record as well, with at least 782 lives lost in what the UN International Organization for Migration has deemed the world's deadliest migration land route.
  • CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus blamed the "failing communist regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela" for this new wave of migration, arguing that the Biden admin. has been able to generally slow the flow of migrants from Mexico and Central America.
  • In August, there were more than 203K migrant encounters along the US-Mexico border, with over 55K involving citizens of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela – a 175% increase compared to Aug. 2021.
  • While most detainees are citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, they represent now less than 60% of total arrests, down from 78% in 2021 and 89% in 2020.
  • White House officials briefed reporters that a record number of more than 1.3M undocumented migrants have been removed during the 2022 fiscal year. Immigration is a major issue ahead of the US midterm elections, with the GOP using it to criticize the Biden admin. and Democratic candidates.

Sources: New York Times, FOX News, Daily Mail, CNN, Forbes, and Newsweek.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Though this figure is emblematic of the Biden administration's failure to contain the border crisis, Biden has passed the buck to "failing communist regimes" in Latin America as if Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have started failing recently. It was Biden's soft policies that created this perfect storm. They reinforce a vicious cycle that encourages immigrants to try to illegally cross the border into the US.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by CBS. Indeed, the migration flows across the US-Mexico border have reached a peak in some ways during the Biden administration - including an all-time high in arrests - but they aren't unprecedented at all. Nearly 50% of those arrested have been quickly expelled from the US. Also, in the early 2000s unlawful entries were much higher, peaking at 3.7M in 2000 and 2.8M in 2006. Context is vital here.