Migrants cross the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico to surrender to US Border Patrol agents
Migrants cross the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico to surrender to US Border Patrol agents AFP

KEY POINTS

  • The number of illegal migrants crossing the border under Biden is significantly higher than during Trump's presidency
  • Texas struck a deal with Idaho to provide more state police to help manage the situation at the border
  • Mexican officials warned that there are still up to 26,000 migrants at border towns waiting to cross

More than 1.5 million illegal migrants have crossed into the United States undetected since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed.

This is much higher than the number of "gotaways," or illegal immigrants known to have entered the U.S. but had not been caught, recorded during former President Donald Trump's last three years in office, which was 415,000 in total for 2018, 2019 and 2020, the New York Post reported.

Since October 2022, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has recorded 530,000 gotaways.

This year's number could surpass 2022's record figure of 600,000 and the 389,000 gotaways DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed for 2021, according to Fox News Digital.

The DHS data covers the agency's fiscal year, which runs from October. This means there are still four months before the final 2023 figures will be obtained.

Over the last few weeks, migrants from Central and South America have been making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border as the lifting of the Title 42 border restriction neared.

Migrants perceive Biden to be easier on immigration and granting asylum than his predecessor, according to the New York Post report.

When Title 42 ended last week, a large number of migrants gathered at different ports of entry at the southern border, with CBP having to manage and apprehend up to 10,000 people a day from Monday until Wednesday – the biggest single-day totals it has ever recorded.

Mexican officials warned last week that there are still up to 26,000 migrants in border towns in Mexico waiting to cross into the U.S.

Despite Biden promising robust border security and immigration policy aimed at discouraging migrants from crossing the border, border officials are afraid that people will start turning to illegal entry and smugglers to enter the U.S., unnamed sources told the Post.

CBP also warned of surges in migrants illegally crossing as its officers apprehended over 15,000 migrants over the weekend, a record high.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent the state's National Guard and officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the border to help manage the situation. He also created a "gotaway" task force and struck a deal with the state of Idaho to send its state police to the border to help.

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"We are sending a message that we do have extra manpower working with Border Patrol," Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez said, NewsNation reported. "We've been able to make apprehensions, where otherwise there would be no manpower there and these would have been gotaways."

Abbott said that his actions and policies at the border are meant to help "fill dangerous gaps created by Biden's open border policies."

A caravan of migrants from Central and South America heading to the Mexico-US border in April, while protesting the death of 40 migrants in a fire at a detention center in the northern city of Juarez
A caravan of migrants from Central and South America heading to the Mexico-US border in April, while protesting the death of 40 migrants in a fire at a detention center in the northern city of Juarez AFP
Immigration