Border officials encountered more than 234,000 migrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border in April, the highest number ever recorded, according to new data from Customs and Border Protection.
The record number of migrants stopped by border officials in April was a 5.8% increase from March, which previously held the record for migrant encounters that was set in July 2021 when 213,953 migrants were apprehended.
“There were 234,088 migrants encountered at the Southern border in April, per a DHS court filing today. That’s the highest number in DHS history. 117,989 migrants were released into the U.S. in April. 113,248 were removed, including 96,908 expelled via Title 42,” Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin wrote on Twitter.
BREAKING: There were 234,088 migrants encountered at the Southern border in April, per a DHS court filing today. That’s the highest number in DHS history.
117,989 migrants were released into the U.S. in April.
113,248 were removed, including 96,908 expelled via Title 42. @FoxNews— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 16, 2022
Less than half of the migrants encountered in April were removed from the country, and nearly 90% of those that were removed were expelled through Title 42, a Trump-era border security policy which President Biden intends on ending next week.
If Biden successfully ends Title 42, the number of monthly migrant encounters is expected to more than double to over 500,000, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document obtained by ABC News. The document states that the end of Title 42 will result in as many as 18,000 migrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border each day.
“The DHS Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) produced projections for post-Title 42 Southwest Border encounters describing low, medium, high, or very high encounter scenarios,” the document says. “These scenarios underpin planning assumptions that generate requirements which in turn drive operational execution. Based on these projections the SBCC is currently planning for 6,000, 12,000 (high) and 18,000 (very high) encounters per day.”
