By the end of the Biden administration, there were about 15 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. Roughly 10.8 million encounters occurred in just the last four years. It is currently estimated that there are 2 million gotaways in the United States, and there were record-high crossings on the southern border.
This is not just a safety issue but a human rights issue:
- One-third of female migrants have been sexually assaulted. Data suggests the that 60-80% of women and young girls are raped on the journey to cross the border.
- There were over 850 migrant deaths in 2022 due to drowning, extreme heat, and other weather conditions, as well as falling from attempting to climb barriers. Many migrants died during human smuggling operations due to abandonment and inhumane conditions.
- Drug smuggling at the southern border has become a major problem, with 27,000 pounds of drugs seized—including 6 billion lethal doses of fentanyl.
- In 2023, 169 individuals on the United States’ Terrorist Watchlist were arrested. Of those individuals, 99 were released. And beyond the safety and crime issues, nearly $20 billion was spent on migrants who came here illegally rather than using those funds for more border security.
An insecure southern border undermines and complicates legal immigration pathways to the United States.
Here’s the issue of border security in 60 seconds: