Staff Reports
The numbers coming out of the Department of Homeland Security make one thing crystal clear: tracking illegal immigrants has become a Herculean task, not because there’s a shortage of illegal immigrants, but because the Biden administration has turned a blind eye to the chaos at the border. Recent reports indicate that there are over 7.6 million illegal immigrants who have been caught and released in the U.S. during the past few years, a staggering uptick from the 3.3 million recorded in late 2020. If that figure doesn’t make one’s head spin, nothing will.
Under the previous administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been managing an at-large docket that seems to have undergone a bit of a horror story since the Biden team took over. Instead of making strides in enforcing immigration laws, the current regime has allowed an additional 4.3 million illegal immigrants to escape the watchful eyes of ICE. The latest figures released in the agency’s final report for fiscal 2024 are nothing short of alarming for anyone who cares about the nation’s security.
A New York Times analysis of government data shows the immigration surge under Biden’s administration was the largest in US history, and America’s foreign-born population is now at its highest in US history. 60% of immigrants entering America under Biden’s watch did so illegally. pic.twitter.com/XFtBPNQxKu
— Frank DeScushin (@FrankDeScushin) December 11, 2024
While deportation numbers have managed to rise—dare we say, thanks to the practical measures instituted by the prior administration—the actual arrests made by ICE have plummeted. Last year saw ICE rounding up a mere 113,431 illegal immigrants, a sharp fall from the 170,590 the year before. Even more disconcerting is the steep dive in at-large arrest numbers, plummeting by 64%. With illegal immigration being such a chronic issue, one might wonder why ICE is struggling to take action against those who have blatantly broken the law.
The ongoing border chaos and claimed “strained resources” from within ICE are cited as culprits for these troubling statistics. Ironically, it seems that while border numbers have improved marginally in recent months, ICE has found itself in deeper water than ever with far more illegal immigrants slipping through its fingers. More than 97% of the 7.6 million at-large migrants are unmonitored. With criminals running free while ICE apparently quibbles about its resources, it’s no surprise that calls for a stronger immigration enforcement strategy are becoming louder.
Strikingly, the most significant section of the at-large population includes those who already have active deportation orders—1.4 million individuals who could be targeted. If the incoming Trump administration plays its cards right, this could be a prime opportunity to clean up the disaster left by the current administration. After all, with more than just a few bad apples out there, this situation is begging for a firm hand to guide it back on track before we’re engulfed in more chaos than a circus without a ringmaster. The clock is ticking, and the stakes are high.
