The Biden administration is reportedly failing to track millions of unauthorized migrants who have crossed the southern border, as monthly encounters continue to surge, according to an interim report compiled by the GOP House Judiciary Committee staff.
The comprehensive 61-page report, which was shared with Fox News Digital and cites new information obtained by the Judiciary Committee, reveals that the number of unauthorized migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border exceeded 2.2 million in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2023. Moreover, the data indicates that the federal government has "no confirmed departure" for over 2.4 million migrants encountered since January 2021.
The report states, "Because of the unprecedented border crisis, some Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been forced to abandon arrests and removals of aliens, including criminal aliens, to process the illegal aliens who have arrived at the southwest border." It further criticizes the Biden Administrations policies and enforcement 'priorities' for contributing to reduced arrests and lower removals of aliens.
The report also pledges that "The Committee and Subcommittee will continue to conduct oversight of the Biden Administrations radical, open-borders immigration policies." It highlights the failures of President Bidens immigration agenda and aims to inform the House on legislative reforms to secure the border, reform immigration law, and end the far-lefts policy incentives driving the crisis at the border.
According to the Judiciary Committee report, southwest border encounters surpassed 100,000 for the 31st consecutive month in August, a figure that has been reached every month since President Biden assumed office in early 2021. Separate border data viewed by Fox News Digital showed that border encounters surged to over 260,000 in September, setting a new record.
The report also includes data showing that, since January 2021, over 1.7 million known "gotaways" have evaded U.S. Border Patrol and escaped into the interior of the United States, while potentially millions more unknown "gotaways" have also infiltrated the country. A "gotaway" refers to a migrant observed making an unlawful entry into the U.S., but not apprehended.
Furthermore, the report emphasizes that, overall, under Biden's presidency through the end of March, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reported over 5 million border encounters. Of these encounters, a staggering 2.46 million had "no confirmed departure" from the U.S., suggesting the migrant "likely remains" in the country.
In response to the report, a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "This so-called report is full of lies from House Republicans who continue to play politics while sabotaging President Bidens work to ramp up enforcement and personnel at the border."
The spokesperson added that the president had requested $4 billion from Congress months ago to deploy thousands more troops and border agents to the border, install new support officers with new equipment, and fund "new detection technology" to intercept the flow of fentanyl across the border.
The spokesperson continued, "House Republicans have refused to act on this request and provide DHS the tools to safely and humanely manage the Southwest Border, they have been pre-occupied posturing and bickering."
Since the lifting of the Title 42 public health order on May 12, the administration has "removed or released" nearly 300,000 migrants, and there have been over 3.6 million repatriations and expulsions since January 2021, the spokesperson said.
When migrants are released into the interior of the United States, the government's processing for their cases can take up to eight years. Although the Biden administration proposed a rule to expedite processing by allowing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to adjudicate claims, that proposal was indefinitely paused earlier this year.
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