Posted on December 21, 2021

US Immigrant Population Hits the Highest in History Under Biden

Katelyn Caralle and Morgan Phillips, Daily Mail, December 20, 2021

The number of immigrants in the U.S. – both illegal and legal – has hit an all-time record high, with a Monday report showing 46.2 million foreign-born people are living in the country.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies report on the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Study (CPS), immigrants made up 14.2 per cent of the U.S population as of November 2021.

This figure is the highest the U.S. immigration population has been in 111 years. It is also triple the share of the population since 1970 and double since 1990.

In 2021, the U.S. saw record-breaking surges in immigration with illegal crossing over the southern border with Mexico as Joe Biden took office and loosened restrictions coupled with legal immigration spikes after Donald Trump lost reelection.

While legal immigration does contribute to the record-high number, illegal immigration is the main contributor to the latest numbers.

Customs and Border Protection data shows they have encountered at the southern border more than 1.75 million migrants illegally crossing or attempting to seek asylum in the U.S.

Numbers released this last week show CBP encountered 173,620 illegal crossers in November alone – an uptick from the October crossings of 164,753.

Immigration through all channels severely depleted in 2020, likely due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s hard-line anti-illegal immigration policies.

Demographer and chief author of the report Steven Camerota explained, according to The Washington Times: ‘There was pent-up demand for legal immigration, and illegal immigration has exploded in one of the greatest surges, if not the greatest, we’ve ever seen.’

‘It’s driving the numbers up and up and up,’ he added.

CBP officials saw a 140 per cent uptick in illegal crossings at the southern border last month from November 2020, when there were only 72,113 encounters.

The November figure is still down from 192,001 encounters in September and 209,840 in August.

Agents saw 127,653 unique individuals attempt to cross, a 10 per cent increase over October. More than 50 per cent were processed for expulsion under Title 42, a coronavirus public health order.

Encounters with unaccompanied children rose 9 per cent to 13,959.

Fiscal year 2021 saw the highest number of border crossings on record at 1.7 million.

CBP commissioner Chris Magnus struck a positive tone on the new border figures.

‘CBP’s November Monthly Operational Update reflects an incredible amount of work on behalf of the American people to keep dangerous drugs and products out of our communities, to facilitate travel and billions of dollars in trade, and to maintain security along our borders,’ Magnus said in a statement.

‘It’s an honor to lead a workforce whose mission is so vital to our economic health and national security. CBP’s vigilance is key to disrupting smugglers and transnational criminal organizations as they exploit vulnerable populations and attempt to traffic illegal and dangerous products.’

Meanwhile, the Biden administration this month was forced to resume former President Trump’s Remain-in-Mexico policy by court order. Two bids by the Biden administration to end the policy, which requires those seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while their claims are being processed, were overruled in court.

And on Friday Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that Democrats cannot include immigration reform in President Biden’s Build Back Better plan being debated in the Senate.

And after Biden ceased Trump’s plan to complete the border wall, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is taking steps to build the border wall in his state.

Abbott has aimed to crack down on migration through Operation Lone Star Initiative, which utilizes Texas’ National Guard and its Department of Public Safety.

The initiative has already placed physical hurdles, like steel shipping containers, on borderlines to block migrants.

‘Texas has officially started building its own border wall,’ Abbott tweeted on Friday. ‘

Biden allows open border policies and refuses to enforce laws passed by Congress to secure the border and enforce immigration laws. Texas is stepping up to do the federal government’s job.’

During an appearance on Fox Business on Friday, Abbott said that the Texas legislature had allocated $3 billion for the project.

‘Three billion dollars of Texas taxpayer money has been devoted to this cause of Texas securing the border, and so we have a lot of money available to us to continue to build the wall,’ Abbott said, adding, ‘For Texas [this] is going to cost less than it did for the Trump administration for one reason. And that’s because in Texas, unlike the Trump administration, we’re not having to devote money to acquire the land …The state of Texas owns [land] on the border itself.’

Abbott also said, ‘There are property owners of massive acreage on the border who are fed up with Biden’s open border policies, and they are donating their land to Texas for us to be able to use that land for free to build a wall on their property.’

However, Abbott said Texas would try to get the federal government to foot the bill.

‘We are seeking federal government to pay for this and there have been requests made by members of the Texas Congressional Delegation to the federal government for funding to get all of this done,’ Abbott said. ‘Texas will also be bringing legal action against the federal government for the state of Texas to get reimbursed for all the costs we have incurred to do the federal government’s job.’