Border Crisis: Highest Number Of Illegal Aliens Arrested in Over 20 Years

U.S. Border Patrol agents in March arrested the highest number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in a month in over 20 years.

Border agents arrested 209,906 people in March, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics released Monday. The figure is the highest number of monthly arrests at the southern border since March 2000, when Border Patrol apprehended 220,063 migrants.

CBP encountered a total of 221,303 individuals at the southern border in March, while the Biden administration is anticipating an upcoming migrant surge with Title 42, the pandemic public health order used to immediately expel some migrants, expiring on May 23.

“CBP continues to enforce the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order. Half of migrants encountered in March were processed for expulsion under Title 42, and those who were not processed under Title 42 continue to be processed for removal under Title 8, the same authorities CBP has used throughout our history,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said in a statement.

“While we may likely see an increase in encounters after the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order is terminated on May 23rd, CBP continues to execute this Administration’s comprehensive strategy to safely, orderly, and humanely manage our borders. CBP is surging personnel and resources to the border, increasing processing capacity, securing more ground and air transportation, and increasing medical supplies, food, water, and other resources to ensure a humane environment for those being processed,” Magnus added.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the White House responded to requests for comment on Title 42.