“These numbers demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that Secretary Mayorkas’ refusal to enforce the law and secure our border is jeopardizing our safety and security”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) issued the following statement Saturday, October 20, following the release of new numbers by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that showed the agency recorded more encounters at the Southwest border in September than any other month in the agency’s history:
 
“This fiscal year may have ended, but the historic crisis at our Southwest border sparked by Secretary Mayorkas’ policies rages on. These numbers demonstrate beyond doubt that Secretary Mayorkas’ refusal to enforce the law and secure our border is jeopardizing our safety and security. Additionally, CBP and the Border Patrol continue to be completely overwhelmed by the flood of illegal immigration that has not stopped since he and President Biden took office. We also can’t forget about the 1.7 million known gotaways, some of whom may be seeking to cause the same type of devastation we saw in Israel on October 7. Our country is less safe. Secretary Mayorkas’ policies have failed, but he has only doubled down on them. He must be held accountable.” 
 
Last month, CBP recorded an astounding 269,735 encounters at the Southwest border—a 18.5% increase compared to last September, and a 15.8% increase from August. In yet another demonstration that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ open-borders policies have failed, this number also represents a 86.6% increase from June 2023, when monthly apprehensions briefly declined as the cartels took stock of the post-Title 42 landscape. 
 
The record-breaking total for September brought total encounters at the Southwest border in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 to 2,475,669, increase of 4% from FY2022. Since DHS Secretary Mayorkas took office, CBP has recorded more than 6.2 million encounters at the Southwest border, and more than 7.5 million nationwide. 
   

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