• For the first time, arrests of undocumented immigrants along the southwest border surpassed two million in one year, according to newly released government data.

The Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that nearly 2.5 million undocumented migrants were detained at the borders of the United States in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022, according to data revealed this Monday.

The cumulative total of CBP-recorded encounters or arrests from October 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022 reached 2,493,723. The majority of encounters were recorded on the southern border, with a total of 2,150,244.

According to statistics, the number of border arrests increased slightly from July to August, totaling more than 2.1 million in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2022.

In this period, the CBP has repatriated and expelled 1,300,467 foreigners, the agency said in a statement.

In August, 203,598 encounters were recorded along the southern border. 22% of these encounters were with migrants who had already been expelled from the country.

CBP said encounters with aliens entering the country for the first time in August (157,921) represent a 2.2% increase over encounters with migrants entering the country for the first time in July, driven largely by a higher number of applicants. of asylum from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

In an unusual move, Biden administration officials did some background on Monday ahead of Customs and Border Protection’s routine monthly data release. Officials noted that the number of migrants last year, more than 1.3 million, was higher than any previous year.

The administration has been trying to avoid immigration problems in recent months as the midterm elections approach and Republicans tout the message that the border is not secure.

Last week, two Republican governors paid for the transportation of dozens of immigrants released from government custody to Massachusetts and Washington, DC, in an escalation of efforts to show Democratic areas of the country what the southern border looks like.

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