Just over 234,000 migrants were intercepted at the southern border by U.S. border agents in April, breaking the previous month's 22-year high of 221,000, according to NBC News.
The network news attributed the information to unspecified court documents. It noted that April marks the fourth time during Joe Biden's presidency that monthly border encounters with migrants has been over 200,000.
The Washington Examiner reported that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection breaks down the figures like this:
- 32,288 people attempted to cross the border at the land ports of entry.
- 201,800 were intercepted after crossing the border and surrendering to border agents.
The Examiner reported that monthly encounters had plunged to 20,000 in April 2020. The figure marked the lowest number in decades.
After Biden was sworn in in January 2021, the U.S. stopped turning away children who showed up unaccompanied.
As a result of the move, and Biden's attempt to halt deportations for 100 days, while suspending border wall construction, illegal entry attempts shot up to 169,000 in March 2021, according to the Examiner. By July, 2021 encounters topped 210,000.
NBC News reported the figures are likely to increase pressure on the Biden administration from Republicans and some Democrats to keep Title 42. Critics of lifting the order say it would lead to an even greater surge at the border.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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