Migrant arrests at southwestern border hit yearly record

The number of arrests of undocumented immigrants at the southwestern border reached a yearly record in August, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Arrests on the southern border were at 2,150,244 in the 11 months leading up to August, according to CBP data released Monday.

The number of arrests along the southwestern border in one year has previously never before surpassed 2 million.

“Failing communist regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba are driving a new wave of migration across the Western Hemisphere, including the recent increase in encounters at the southwest U.S. border,” said CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus in a news release.

“More individuals encountered at the border without a legal basis to remain will be expelled or removed this year than any prior year,” he added.

August saw 2.2 percent more arrests overall than July. There was a 175 percent increase in arrests of Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants in August compared to a year ago.

The number of Mexican immigrants arrested in August 2022 decreased by 43 percent compared to August 2021.

The figures from the Biden administration come as Republicans are again seeking to make immigration a central issue heading into the midterms in November.

A number of GOP governors have sent migrants by bus or train to Democratic-run cities, in what they claim is an effort to spread the burden of caring for immigrants, but which Democrats call a crude political ploy.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) flew approximately 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., on Wednesday in an attempt to publicly criticize liberal immigration policies.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has previously bused migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago, saying that political leaders in these states support permissive immigration laws without realizing their effects on border states.

The CBP also shared numbers related to drug seizures nationwide, reporting that the amount of drugs seized had increased by 1.4 percent in August since the previous month.

Cocaine and fentanyl seizures increased by 193 percent and 6 percent respectively, while methamphetamine and heroin seizures decreased by 44 percent and 10 percent respectively.