Border Tracker

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Total border encounters by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), Biden years (blue) vs. Trump years (red):

Individuals Encountered by CBP
Fiscal
Year
Office of
Field
Operations
U.S.
Border
Patrol
TotalCumulativeNotes
20241,046,6191,380,9822,427,60110,351,846For 9 months in FY2024
20231,137,4522,063,6923,201,144
2022551,9302,214,6522,766,582
2021294,3521,662,1671,956,519
2020241,786405,036646,8223,004,925
2019288,523859,5011,148,024
2018279,036404,142683,178
2017216,370310,531526,901
Migrant Encounters by Year.
Sources: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics, https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters.

Additional table notes:

  • Cumulative = sum of included Total values.
  • A fiscal year (FY) includes October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the current year. For instance, FY2024 includes October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
  • Presidential terms don’t align perfectly with fiscal years, notably FY2017 and FY2021. Therefore, the numbers above aren’t perfectly representative of Biden and Trump, respectively, but are close.

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U.S. Border Patrol terrorist watchlist encounters between ports of entry, Biden years (blue) vs. Trump years (red):

Terrorist Watchlist Encounters on U.S. Soil between Ports of Entry
Fiscal
Year
Southwest
Border
Northern
Border
TotalCumulativeNotes
202493194380For 9 months in FY2024
20231693172
202298098
202115116
202030314
2019033
2018606
2017202
Terrorist Watchlist Encounters by Year. Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics#btn-acc33765.

Additional table notes:

  • Cumulative = sum of included Total values.
  • A fiscal year (FY) includes October 1 of the prior year through September 30 of the current year. For instance, FY2024 includes October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024.
  • Presidential terms don’t align perfectly with fiscal years, notably FY2017 and FY2021. Therefore, the numbers above aren’t perfectly representative of Biden and Trump, respectively, but are close.

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Biden’s illegal migrant flights to the United States under the
Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV) mass-parole program

Top 15 airport locations used and the number of inadmissible aliens flown to these locations in January-August 2023:

  1. Miami, Fla.: 91,821
  2. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: 60,461
  3. New York City, N.Y.: 14,827
  4. Houston, Texas: 7,923
  5. Orlando, Fla.: 6,043
  6. Los Angeles, Calif.: 3,271
  7. Tampa, Fla.: 3,237
  8. Dallas, Texas: 2,256
  9. San Francisco, Calif.: 2,052
  10. Atlanta, Ga.: 1,796
  11. Newark, N.J.: 1,498
  12. Washington, D.C.: 1,472
  13. Chicago, Ill.: 496
  14. Las Vegas, Nev.: 483
  15. Austin, Texas: 171

Sources:

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A few relevant news reports from X:

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Biden Executive Orders that helped cause the border crisis:

  • Biden EO 13993 Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities
    • Revoked Trump EO 13768 Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
  • Biden EO 14010 Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, to Manage Migration throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border
    • Revoked Trump EO 13767 Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements
  • Biden EO 14011 Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families
    • Revoked Trump EO 13841 Affording Congress an Opportunity to Address Family Separation
  • Biden EO 14012 Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans
  • Biden EO 14013 Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration
    • Revoked Trump EO 13815 Resuming the United States Refugee Admissions Program with Enhanced Vetting Capabilities
    • Revoked Trump EO 13888 Enhancing State and Local Involvement in Refugee Resettlement
  • Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders

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Trump policies that secured the border that the Biden administration reversed or ended:

  • Border wall construction
  • Asylum cooperative agreements
  • Migrant Protection Protocols (a.k.a. “Remain in Mexico”)
  • Title 42
  • Prompt asylum case review
  • Humanitarian asylum review program

More Biden administration actions that helped cause the border crisis:
https://www.speaker.gov/64-times-the-biden-administration-intentionally-undermined-border-security/.

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Congressional bills to consider:

H.R. 2, Secure the Border Act of 2023:

  • Best proposed congressional bill for border security
  • Reinstates the “Remain in Mexico” policy
  • Ends the catch-and-release policy
  • Fixes the asylum process
  • Limits the ability of DHS to provide parole to aliens
  • Requires all employers to use E-Verify
  • Requires DHS to resume building the border wall
  • Makes various technology-related improvements for monitoring the border
  • Efficient, effective, and would actually secure the border
  • Would compel the Biden administration to take actions to secure the border, even though the administration already has the ability to do so without help from or compulsion by Congress

S. 4361, Border Act of 2024:

  • Simply throws money at everything and codifies the destructive actions the Biden administration has already been taking with regard to border security
  • Absolutely does not secure the border

H.R. 815, Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024:

  • Deceptive congressional bill with “poison pills”
  • Includes the following sections of text:
    • “DISCRETIONARY ACTIVATION. The Secretary may activate the border emergency authority if, during a period of 7 consecutive calendar days, there is an average of 4,000 or more aliens who are encountered each day.”
    • “MANDATORY ACTIVATION. The Secretary shall activate the border emergency authority if (i) during a period of 7 consecutive calendar days, there is an average of 5,000 or more aliens who are encountered each day; or (ii) on any 1 calendar day, a combined total of 8,500 or more aliens are encountered.”
    • “JUDICIAL REVIEW. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, judicial review of any decision or action in this section shall be governed only by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia…”
    • “JUDICIAL REVIEW… The United States District Court for the District of Columbia shall have sole and original jurisdiction to hear challenges…”

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