There’s no migrant ‘surge’ at the U.S. southern border. Here’s the data.

Authors Tom K. Wong, Gabriel De Roche, and Jesus Rojas Venzor dispel myths about what’s happening at the U.S. southern border.

Media Contact

Julia Cusick

Vice President, Communications

[email protected]

Government Affairs

Peter Gordon

Director, Federal Affairs

[email protected]

Jerry Parshall

Senior Director, Safety and Justice Campaign; Director, State and Local Government Affairs

[email protected]

Last week, at the U.S. border with Mexico, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declared that the recent increase in unaccompanied minors attempting to enter the United States was a “crisis … created by the presidential policies of this new administration.”

We looked at data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to see whether there’s a “crisis” — or even a “surge,” as many news outlets have characterized it. We analyzed monthly CBP data from 2012 to now and found no crisis or surge that can be attributed to Biden administration policies. Rather, the current increase in apprehensions fits a predictable pattern of seasonal changes in undocumented immigration combined with a backlog of demand because of 2020’s coronavirus border closure.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Washington Post. Click here to view the full article.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.

Authors

Tom K. Wong

Senior Fellow

Topics

States

There’s no migrant ‘surge’ at the U.S. southern border. Here’s the data.