U.S. immigration authorities detained a record 302,034 people at the southwest border in December, including immigrants and refugees based on CBP data released this Friday. The December figure marks more than a 20 percent increase from November, when roughly 242,500 individuals were in CBP custody. In fact, last December’s total stands as the highest monthly number since President Biden took office in January 2021.
The majority of those detained, more than 249,785, entered the United States irregularly, with the remainder processed at ports of entry for transfer to immigration authorities.
CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller stated that the agency is leveraging every available resource to strengthen border security, while acknowledging the need for additional funding from Congress. The surge in migrant arrivals in the final months of 2023 forced CBP to reallocate personnel and temporarily pause certain procedures at multiple border crossings across Texas, Arizona, and California.
In Washington, President Biden urged Congress to reach a legislative agreement that would tighten immigration rules at the southern border in exchange for a new economic aid package for Ukraine. The president described a bipartisan bill being negotiated by Democratic and Republican senators to address the border crisis and urged lawmakers to move forward. He emphasized that if lawmakers are serious about the border situation, they should pass a bipartisan bill that he will sign, though the proposal has not yet gained enough support to clear the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.