Biden questioned on migrant surge, says 'not rational' to 'send them back' to Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua
FOX NewsNov 25, 2022
US Arrests Along Mexico Border Exceed 2M in FY22
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Image copyright: VCG/Getty Images [via CBS News]
The Facts
On Monday, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released data showing that the number of arrests of undocumented immigrants along the US southwestern border has reached an all-time one-year-high, topping 2M in the 2022 fiscal year – which ends on Sept. 30.
Figures indicate a one-year migrant death record as well, with at least 782 lives lost in what the UN International Organization for Migration has deemed the world's deadliest migration land route.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Though this figure is emblematic of the Biden administration's failure to contain the border crisis, Biden has passed the buck to "failing communist regimes" in Latin America, as if Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have started failing recently. It was Biden's soft policies that created this perfect storm. They reinforce a vicious cycle that encourages immigrants to try to illegally cross the border into the US.
Democratic narrative
Indeed, the migration flows across the US-Mexico border have reached a peak in some ways during the Biden administration - including an all-time high in arrests - but they aren't unprecedented at all. Nearly 50% of those arrested have been quickly expelled from the US. Also, in the early 2000s unlawful entries were much higher, peaking at 3.7M in 2000 and 2.8M in 2006. Context is vital here.
