There was an increase in the number of migrant encounters at the southern border in December up from November, according to data provided to a federal court by the Biden administration — the latest indication that the crisis at the border is likely to continue into 2022.
According to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data provided in the Jan 14 filing, there were 178,840 migrant encounters in December, up from 173,620 in November which was an increase from the 164,753 apprehensions in October.
Those numbers are shocking in comparison to the previous year when there were 72,113 encounters in November and 73,994 in December.
CBP has not officially released its monthly operational update and said that it does not provide preliminary data or comment before the update posts, though a spokesperson did say that the official data should be published in the coming days.
Of the 178,840 apprehensions, 78,589 were expelled via Title 42 — the Trump era public health order that has been kept in a limited capacity and can be used to expel migrants quickly at the southern border.
The documents also show that 55,626 migrants were released into the U.S. Of those, 36,652 were released with a Notice to Appear at a future court hearing. Nearly 19,000 were given humanitarian parole which is determined on a “case by case basis” for urgent humanitarian or public benefit reasons.
The Biden administration has been struggling with the ongoing crisis at the southern border, which saw a tremendous increase in apprehensions following President Biden’s inauguration. The number surged to over 213,000 encounters in July, and has dropped slightly since then but has stayed above the 150,000 mark.
The administration also ended the Migrant Protection Protocols — a key policy of the Trump administration which called for migrants to return to Mexico until their hearing. It was seen as key to ending the practice of “catch and release.”
However, the Supreme Court upheld a federal court ruling that the Biden administration ended the program unlawfully, and ordered it restored.
While the administration has complied with the order, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has indicated that the agency will end the policy — which critics have said is cruel– in a manner that complies with the court ruling.
