WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House Committee on Homeland Security released the August “Startling Stats” factsheet, showcasing over 300,000 border encounters nationwide—a new all-time record under President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas’ watch. At the center of this crisis, the Southwest border has now experienced a 100% increase in encounters compared to all of the last fiscal year, and there is still one more month left in FY2023.

We didn’t need more proof that Biden and Mayorkas’ post-Title 42 strategy had failed, but that’s exactly what the August U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data demonstrates. With nearly 1.6 million known gotaways and hundreds of thousands of inadmissible aliens granted parole every month through the cartel-exploited CBP One app and other mass-parole programs, this open border is only enriching transnational criminal organizations and allowing them to expand their reach across the border and the country. Now, communities across the country, from small border towns like Del Rio and Yuma to big cities like New York and Chicago, are left to pick up the pieces.

Former Obama administration Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson once described a border “crisis” as more than 1,000 alien encounters per day. In August, alien encounters at the Southwest border averaged around 6,000 a day. The truth of this crisis is clear to the American people. Unfortunately, we don’t know how many dangerous illegal aliens are entering the country undetected, especially as Border Patrol agents are being pulled off the front lines to help process and release the mass amounts of illegal aliens flooding the border. This crisis continues to be a threat to our homeland security, and Homeland Republicans are demanding accountability. 

Key Facts:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 232,972 alien encounters along the Southwest Border (SWB) in August 2023.
  • This is a 14% increase compared to last August. With one month remaining, encounters at the Southwest border in FY2023 have increased over 100% compared to all of FY2019.
• Encounters by the Office of Field Operations (OFO) were the highest on record in August and increased 132% from August 2022.
  • 45,400 inadmissible aliens were processed by OFO with CBP One app appointments in August.
• So far in FY23, 151 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border between ports of entry.
• CBP has arrested 32,097 aliens with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants nationwide so far in FY23.
• In FY23 alone, CBP, including Air and Marine Operations, has seized 25,901 pounds of fentanyl, coming across the Southwest border—enough to kill around 6 billion people.
• Since the beginning of FY23, 20,273 Chinese nationals have been encountered along the Southwest border—a 831% increase in encounters compared to all of last fiscal year.