Biden Administration Claims Credit for Reducing Illegal Migration Even Though the Numbers Actually Went Up
April 20, 2023
The 19th century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is credited with saying, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damnable lies, and statistics.” It’s unlikely he had the 21st century Biden administration in mind when he made that quip, but it would certainly apply.
In 2023, the Biden administration is struggling mightily to maintain a policy intentionally designed to create de facto open borders, while trying to convince the American public, which overwhelmingly wants the borders controlled, that they are doing just that. So, when the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency released data for March 2023, their press release claimed credit for a significant reduction in border encounters (162,317) relative to March 2022 (211,181). “Overall, in March, encounters of individuals on the Southwest border between ports of entry were down 23% from the prior year, as we continue to respond to the challenges presented by increasing global migration,” crowed Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller. Encounters between ports of entry are the responsibility of the Border Patrol.
This is where the Disraeli disclaimer kicks in. Nowhere in CBP’s press release does the figure 257,910 appear. That is the total number of migrants who were encountered by agencies under CBP that are charged with enforcing U.S. immigration laws. Most of those 95,593 additional encounters were racked up by the Office of Field Operations (OFO), which deals with inadmissible migrants who are attempting to enter the United States at land, air and sea ports of entry.
https://www.fairus.org/blog/2023/04/20/biden-administration-claims-credit-reducing-illegal-migration-even-though-numbers
