Migrant crossings at U.S. southern border reach record monthly high in December
CBSN
Border Patrol has processed more migrants who entered the U.S. illegally in December than in any other month in the agency's history, internal federal statistics obtained by CBS News show, highlighting the magnitude of the extraordinary migration crisis the Biden administration is grappling with.
U.S. Border Patrol agents took into custody more than 225,000 migrants who crossed the southern border — in between official crossings — during the first 27 days of December, according to the preliminary Department of Homeland Security statistics. The figure does not include legal entries at ports of entry, where the Biden administration has been processing roughly 50,000 migrants each month, mostly under a process powered by a smartphone app.
The previous monthly record high in migrant apprehensions was recorded in May 2022, when Border Patrol processed 224,000 migrants in between ports of entry. There are still four days left in December.