[ad_1]
The chaos at the southern border grew in August, according to new numbers Homeland Security released Monday that showed record levels of fentanyl and illegal immigrants being smuggled in.
The fentanyl numbers were particularly troubling, setting yet another monthly record and topping July, which was already the worst month by far.
And Customs and Border Protection said it nabbed 203,597 people at the border last month and has now encountered more than 2 million illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2022, which still has a month to go.
It’s the sixth straight month that encounters topped 200,000.
CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus blamed rough conditions in Latin American countries for chasing people from home and toward the U.S.
“Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border,” he said.
SEE ALSO: State Department watchdog gives failing grade to new counter-disinformation center
He said migrants from more traditional sending nations like Mexico and parts of Central America declined in August, and he said that was a sign of better border-security efforts between the U.S. and those countries.
He also said the U.S. will expel or remove more illegal immigrants at the border than any previous year.
What he didn’t mention is that the U.S. will also catch and release more than ever before — more than half of all those coming are being caught then quickly set free under Biden administration border policies.
The rise in people is a challenge to Mr. Magnus, who a month ago had taken a victory lap as the July numbers showed a slight dip.
August, though, saw more than 55,000 people from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua stream into the U.S., fueling the 203,597 total illegal immigrant encounters, up from 200,195 in July.
[ad_2]
Source link
