The Biden administration plans to deport 125,000 migrants in fiscal year 2025 despite the surge in border crossings.
The number is half the removals conducted in fiscal year 2019 and lower than the 142,000 removed in fiscal year 2023, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency budget request, reported the New York Post.
The measure, "Total number of noncitizen returns and removals from the U.S.," includes both the return and removal of noncitizen immigrants from the United States by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
"This measure reflects the program's efforts to enforce immigration law by identifying, apprehending, processing, and removing noncitizen immigrants from the United States," the report states.
After a record-breaking number of encounters at the southern border in December, crossings dropped by half in January, according to U.S. officials. The largest decrease was in the Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, Texas, the main focus of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's recent border enforcement efforts. Mexico also increased enforcement efforts during that time after talks with President Joe Biden's administration.
Immigration has emerged as a central issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, which is widely expected to be a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, and each man is seeking to use the border problems to his own political advantage.
The number of people who are illegally crossing the U.S. border has been rising for years, for reasons that include climate change, war and unrest in other nations, the economy, and cartels that see migration as a cash cow.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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