Staff Reports
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Non-Detention Docket (NDD) has seen an astonishing jump in the number of illegal foreign nationals marked for deportation. Fiscal year 2023 reported 6.2 million individuals in this category, a staggering increase from 4.7 million in 2022 and 3.6 million in 2021. It seems the administration has succeeded in creating an immigration crisis that even the most extreme coffee orders at a liberal café can’t rival.
The NDD refers to illegal foreign nationals who have gone through the legal wringer and received final orders of removal from immigration judges. That means all appeals have been tossed out like last year’s fruitcake, yet these individuals are still hanging around like uninvited guests at a party. This is all thanks to the administration’s spectacular failure to manage border security, allowing a flood of illegal crossings and subsequently creating a massive backlog in the system.
Under Biden, docket for deportation explodes to 6.3 million https://t.co/eGYcGo1NPI
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) December 16, 2024
In FY 2023 alone, much of this increase can be traced back to massive apprehensions at the Southwest Border. More than 6.2 million illegal immigrants were added to the docket, jumping 30.3% from 2022. Meanwhile, the pre-Biden numbers paint a rather more manageable picture, with just 3.26 million recorded in FY 2020 when there was a different approach to border security. Even the most optimistic liberals can’t spin that into a success story.
Just as alarming as the numbers are the countries of origin. Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico are leading the way with hundreds of thousands of individuals in line for removal. It’s like a catastrophic road trip with a full car of people who don’t want to get out, only now the GPS isn’t working. Mixed in the crowd are nationals from countries that don’t exactly have a good reputation on the world stage, including a list of nations linked to terrorism. It’s a bewildering and dangerous assortment that has an apparent disregard for laws put in place to keep the nation safe.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2024, the NDD total remains high at over 1.4 million. However, this is a much smaller number compared to the previous year, a slight glimmer of hope amidst the chaos. Yet, the presence of nearly 180,000 illegal foreign nationals remains unresolved due to a unique “Alternatives to Detention” program that allows them to wander freely across the country. This program was championed by the Biden administration despite a slew of federal judges deeming similar practices illegal.
Now, Tom Homan, the newly minted border czar, has made it clear that the focus will shift towards prioritizing dangerous criminals and terrorists for deportation. Individuals with serious criminal records, suspected ties to terrorism, and those who have been ordered removed but are now fugitives are at the top of the list. Finally, a ladle of common sense amid the immigration soup. And while the left may continue to promote their open-border policies wrapped in euphemism, this administration has given birth to a crisis so large it’s swimming in its own contradictions, all while conservatives are left picking up the pieces.
