Attempted Mexican border crossings up 6 percent in February

The number of illegal immigrants arrested along the southwestern border skyrocketed to nearly 165,000 in February, up 6.6 percent from January, according to the monthly report Data released by Customs and Border Protection.

Border officials encountered 164,973 people along the US-Mexico border last month, 30 percent of whom had encountered border officials at least once in the past 12 months.

There was a smaller increase (4.7 percent) in the definite number of people arrested from 111,437 in January to 116,678 in February.

While the number of family units encountered fell from 31,998 to 26,582 in February, the number of unaccompanied minors taken into custody skyrocketed by a whopping 37 percent to over 12,000.

About 55 percent (91,513) of the migrants encountered were treated under Title 42 of the public health agency for expulsion, while 73,460 were treated under Title 8. It is unclear how many migrants have been released into the US.

The February surge — a 63 percent increase since February 2021 — mimics the historical trend of attempted crossings, which rise at the beginning of each year before peaking in late spring or early summer. Last year, arrests peaked at more than 213,000 in July. From that point on, the number of encounters declined three months in a row peaks again in November and Decemberthen fall in January.

Republicans were quick to smack the government for the rise on Tuesday, blaming it for refusing to secure the border.

“This is a 63% increase from February 2021 and a 350% increase from February 2020. Despite record numbers of illegal border crossings in 2021, the Biden administrator is refusing to secure the border, making the problem worse. This is a shameful dereliction of duty,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) tweeted.

“164,973 border encounters in February, a 63% increase over the February total.” wrote Chad Gilmartin, Speaker for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“2,276,921 illegal border crossings so far under the Biden-Harris administration. February was the 12TH consecutive month with over 100,000 encounters.”

“Biden’s border crisis is out of control. Nearly 165,000 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border last month, the highest total in February in Department of Homeland Security history,” Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “Joe Biden and the Democrats’ ruthless open borders agenda caused this crisis, and American families are paying the price with more violent crime, dangerous drugs and millions of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border.”

The spike in attempted border crossings comes as the Biden administration tries to manage multiple crises at home and abroad, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Last month Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Europe ahead of the Russian invasion to underscore the government’s commitment to NATO and Ukraine.

Back then, the vice president – and Biden’s so-called border czar – was heavily criticized by Republicans for jetting off during the ongoing US border crisis.

“Biden is deploying Kamala Harris to Europe to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) tweetedShe sarcastically adds, “Right, because she’s so comfortable with our southern border…”

Harris returned to the region earlier this month, Meeting with leaders of Poland and Romania reaffirming US commitment to impose tough sanctions on Russia.