FY 2024: Numbers of Illegal Immigration Encounters Explode

Kamala Harris says she wants to "strengthen our borders." Horse squeeze. The Biden administration, in which she was early on proclaimed as "border czar," has overseen the collapse of our southern border and record numbers of people pouring into the country. Many, if not most, of these illegal immigrants are young, healthy, unattached military-age men, and if that doesn't send a chill up your spine, it should.

The numbers for fiscal year 2024 are out now, and they aren't pretty.

Nearly three million foreign nationals illegally entered or attempted entry into the U.S. in fiscal 2024, according to data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The total reported nationwide was 2,901,142, with 198,929 reported at the northern border and 2,135,005 reported at the southwest border. The data includes Border Patrol apprehensions between ports of entry, CBP encounters at ports of entry. and Office of Field Operations apprehensions nationwide.
CBP’s fiscal 2024 data, which covers Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 1, 2024, is the second highest reported under the Biden-Harris administration and second highest in U.S. history.

I know what you're thinking here; this was the second-highest number of illegal immigrants reported in U.S. history. When was the first? Oh, that was FY 2023:

The highest total reported in U.S. history was more than 3.2 million in fiscal 2023, followed by fiscal 2024, fiscal 2022’s more than 2.76 million and fiscal 2021’s 1.95 million. When subtracting the first three months of fiscal 2021, which occurred during the Trump administration, the number drops to 1,684,116. No other administration has reported totals as high as these.

What a freaking calamity.

Louisiana Sues DHS Over Chinese Illegal With Deadly Infectious Disease

This disaster is directly due to Joe Biden's reversal of every Trump-era executive order on border enforcement - and now his vice president is on the stump claiming she knows how to "strengthen the border." Give me a break.

But wait! There's more!

This total excludes more than 2 million who illegally entered and evaded capture, known as gotaways. CBP does not publicly report gotaway data. The Center Square first reported gotaway data in 2021 after receiving it from a Border Patrol agent. Retired CBP officials say the number is higher because gotaway data is underreported by about 20%.

And:

Combined, the number of illegal border crossers under the Biden-Harris administration totals at least nearly 14 million.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, has said the number is at least 16 million. Others say it is much higher.

And as I'm constantly pointing out, so many of these people are young, able, unattached, military-aged men. Emphasis on the "military-aged." And as, again, I'm constantly pointing out, we have very little idea who many of these young men are, why they are here, where they intend to go, and what they intend to do when they get there. This isn't just an economic issue; it's not just an employment issue; it's not just a welfare, housing prices, or even a crime issue. It is all those things, but it's not just those things. This is a national security issue, and one doesn't have to be a deep military affairs analyst to understand why.

You can view the entire CBP report here.

Look, this issue and many more are only going to become more contentious before they are solved - if they ever are. If you want to keep up on all these issues, as well as gain access to a lot of analysis, video, and much more, you should consider a VIP membership. The new Platinum level gets you access to all of the Townhall media sites, including VIP content, plus access to a catalog of feature-length films, and a credit to the new Townhall store. Use promo code SAVEAMERICA for a 50% discount.