(CBrief) – The border has been a continuing crisis with the administration of President Joe Biden, and now it has become historic.
In September the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border reached a record high for one fiscal year, Newsmax reported.
The year-end numbers reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in some countries, the relative strength of the U.S. economy and uneven enforcement of Trump-era asylum restrictions.
Migrants were stopped 227,547 times in September at the U.S. border with Mexico, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency. It was up 11.5% from 204,087 times in August and 18.5% from 192,001 times in September 2021.
In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before, according to figures released late Friday night. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August and is more than twice the highest level during Donald Trump’s presidency in 2019.
Nearly 78,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were stopped in September, compared to about 58,000 from Mexico and three countries of northern Central America that have historically accounted for most of the flow.
United States and Mexican officials said that since Title 42 has started being used to send Venezuelans to Mexico the rate of illegal border crossing by Venezuelans has fallen 80 percent.
But the Biden administration has pledged to allow as many as 24,000 Venezuelans on humanitarian parole if they come in via an airport and have a financial sponsor.
“While this early data is not reflected in the (September) report, it confirms what we’ve said all along: When there is a lawful and orderly way to enter the country, individuals will be less likely to put their lives in the hands of smugglers and try to cross the border unlawfully,” Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Chris Magnus said.
In May a federal judge blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a Trump-era rule put in place during the pandemic authorizing immigration and border agents to immediately deport migrants who crossed illegally.
The rule was set to end, but several states filed suit to block the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from ending the rule, claiming the agency did not follow federal law in doing so.
“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have decried the end of the policy — implemented as public health initiative under the Trump administration to block migrants from coming during the pandemic — out of concern that ending Title 42 would exacerbate already record numbers at the border,” Axios reported.
“Given the impact of the Termination Order on the Plaintiff States and their showing that the CDC did not comply with the [Administrative Procedure Act], the Court concludes that the public interest would be served by a preliminary injunction preventing the termination of the CDC’s Title 42 Orders,” U.S. District Judge Robert Summerhays of the Western District of Louisiana noted in his 47-page ruling.
Not surprisingly, the Justice Department announced following the ruling that it would appeal.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invoked its authority under Title 42 due to the unprecedented public-health dangers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” department spokesperson Anthony Coley said.
“CDC has now determined, in its expert opinion, that continued reliance on this authority is no longer warranted in light of the current public-health circumstances. That decision was a lawful exercise of CDC’s authority,” he added.
Twenty-four states filed suit to keep the policy in place, Axios noted. In addition, there is a bipartisan effort in the Senate to keep the rule in place, which is holding up the latest COVID relief package, the outlet added. The House has passed a bipartisan measure but the Senate has yet to act.
“The decision is wrong and we would expect the administration to take immediate action to undo this injunction if the White House is actually serious about finally getting rid of the Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to eliminate protections for asylum seekers,” ACLU’s Lee Gelernt, who is the lead attorney in the Title 42 lawsuits in DC, told Axios in a statement.
But supporters of the ruling were elated.
“Today’s ruling is a significant win as Title 42 is one of the few policies that is actually working,” said Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, according to Fox News. “I’m grateful to the court for upholding the rule of law and helping maintain some level of sanity as we continue to battle the Biden-made border crisis.”
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