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Border Crisis: Number of Illegal Immigrants Apprehended in July Soars to Record Highs

Arrestos de migrantes en la frontera llegó a su mayor nivel en 20 años

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Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 212,672 immigrants in July, the highest monthly figure in 21 years, according to data released on Thursday. It also recorded an all-time high of 19,000 unaccompanied children.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who traveled on a visit to Texas, highlighted that the figure is an “unprecedented” number in the United States. So far in 2021, the figure totals 1,331,822 apprehensions.

“We are encountering an unprecedented number of immigrants crossing the southern border,” the official highlighted, stressing that the majority, approximately 52%, are adults.

This is the largest number of people illegally passing into the country in two decades; which means that the numbers have increased every month that President Biden has been in office.

July’s all-time high is a 13% increase over June which recorded 188,829 police encounters at the southwest border, which represented by then a 571% increase over the same month in 2020.

“It is critical that future migrants clearly understand that they will be returned if they enter the US illegally, and that they have no basis for assistance under our laws,” Mayorkas said.

He explained that of the immigrants detained in July, 95,788 aliens were removed from the United States under Title 42, which allows for the removal of migrants for emergency health reasons.

He warned that removal to Mexico under Title 42 has caused the number of people trying to enter to increase, because of the repeated times a migrant tries to enter.

116,884 people were processed and removed from the country on an expedited basis under Title 8, which allows the deportation of migrants who do not meet the eligibility requirements to stay in the country.

Record number of immigrants already estimated

DHS Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy David Shahoulian had already projected that July would surpass 200,000 apprehensions, according to records that allowed him to predict an estimated figure.

Shahoulian had also estimated that by July there would be a record number of apprehensions of unaccompanied minors, more than 19,000 to be exact, data he took for granted in a court document in which he described public health concerns. CBP’s published figure was 18,689.

The facilities available to the Biden Administration have been overcrowded and the Department of Health and Human Services had to open more shelters at documentation centers for the minors in points such as San Diego, California, Dallas, and Texas.

Abbott’s order blocked

On July 28, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott issued an order preventing the public from providing transportation to immigrants who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and were released after being apprehended by border agents.

Abbott argued that the increase in COVID-19 cases in Texas was related to the dramatic increase in illegal border crossings. In response, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state in court in El Paso, seeking an immediate block of the order. The injunction will last until August 13.

The consequences of open borders

Texas Senator Ted Cruz also recently blamed the Biden Administration for promoting an open borders policy, which he believes is creating a catastrophe and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, due to the large number of immigrants who tested positive for COVID-19.

“Today we just received the news that in recent months the Biden Administration has released more than 7,000 illegal migrants who had COVID-19 (…) It is unacceptable and they continue to do so, its open border is endangering not only the people in Texas, but people across the country,” the Republican senator told Fox News.

“Joe Biden is trying to play politics with the pandemic, even while releasing illegal immigrants with COVID-19 into the state of Texas,” Ted Cruz added.

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