More than 300,000 immigrants attempted to enter the United States unlawfully or were paroled during August, surpassing all national records and spelling a catastrophe for the Biden administration that claimed its sweeping policy reforms were working.
In August, 304,162 people were apprehended by Border Patrol while crossing the border illegally, were deemed inadmissible by customs officers at ports of entry, or used new Biden initiatives to bypass the border and fly under the umbrella of temporary parole, according to data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday.
The August number surpassed the record of 302,412 from December 2022.
The 304,162 is between five and 10 times higher than the average monthly totals seen during the Obama and Trump administrations.
At the southern border, 181,059 immigrants were arrested after walking around the ports of entry and crossing into the U.S. Approximately 74,000 of that number were single adults, 19,000 arrived with a family member, and 13,500 were unaccompanied children.
The numbers match up with the initial numbers that CBP sources shared with the Washington Examiner three weeks ago.
Customs officers at the southern border ports encountered 51,913 people who did not have documents to enter but may have claimed asylum.
Another approximately 20,000 immigrants were arrested on the northern border or deemed inadmissible at air, land, and sea ports up north.
The remaining 50,000-person difference is not specifically broken on CBP’s website but accounts for immigrants outside the U.S. who were granted humanitarian parole and allowed to fly into the country.
In late 2022, the Department of Homeland Security announced processes through which citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members may request to come to the U.S.
“Qualified beneficiaries who are outside the United States and lack U.S. entry documents may be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for advanced authorization to travel and a temporary period of parole for up to two years for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” according to the DHS website. These people must have an adult sponsor in the U.S.
Since President Joe Biden took office, Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 7 million people who illegally entered the country between ports of entry nationwide.
The surge in August is unusual because illegal immigration has historically declined during the summer months when it is extremely hot near the border. The increase could mean even higher illegal immigration when temperatures drop in the fall.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on questions about a surge at the border this week and said the numbers ebb and flow.