WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics showing that 2022 has already had two million border encounters, more border encounters than any year on record which makes it clear that this administration must take action to address the border crisis:
“The August CBP operational statistics show that for the second month in a row, more than 2,000 pounds of fentanyl was seized. This surge in illicit narcotics coming over our border continues to endanger families in Ohio and throughout the country since the vast majority of fentanyl is getting through undetected according to the DEA.
“Even more alarming, this administration’s border crisis has broken yet another record with more than two million border encounters this fiscal year, the highest of any fiscal year on record. The first two years of the Biden administration have been the highest two years of unlawful migration in our nation’s history. The August CBP numbers also show more than 203,000 total encounters at the border including more than 52,000 migrant family members; more than 140,000 single adult migrants; and more than 11,300 unaccompanied children.
“We weren’t in this situation under the last administration or the Obama administration because we had in place policies that worked to stem the flow of unlawful migration. President Obama deported 65 percent of more than 315,000 unlawful migrants that entered unlawfully in fiscal year 2014 using the same laws and authorities that President Biden has today. In contrast, President Biden deported or removed around 56,000 unlawful migrants in fiscal year 2021, around five percent of the over one million unlawful migrants it processed under our immigration laws. In fact, the Biden administration’s policy on deportations has resulted in a 70 percent reduction in deportations in fiscal year 2021 compared to fiscal year 2020. The lack of responsible border policies by this administration is creating a pull factor for Mexican transnational criminal organizations to push deadly substances into communities in Ohio and traffic unlawful migrants into the country. This administration must take action to end their border crisis to ensure the safety and security of all Americans.”
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