More than 2.5 million illegal border crossers from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras were documented during the Biden-Harris administration.
Gotaways, or people who entered the country illegally and avoided capture, are not included in the total. Additionally, it does not include the number of inadmissibles from these nations who were allowed to enter the United States under the so-called family reunification program (FRP), which was established by Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Republicans in the U.S. House impeached Mayorkas for implementing at least 13 parole programs that they deemed unlawful, along with other measures they claim caused the border issue. The CHNV parole program, designed for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who are inadmissible, was one of them. Under the Biden-Harris administration, they add up to almost 3 million, including illegal border crossers, according to an exclusive investigation from The Center Square.
According to The Center Square, Mayorkas launched the FRP program for Colombian, El Salvadorian, Guatemalan, and Honduran citizens who were deemed ineligible in July 2023. According to The Center Square, citizens of CHNV and FRP nations have been and are still connected to violent crimes against Americans and other nationals.
For the first time in American history, the federal government opened regional processing centers outside of the United States as part of the FRP’s facilitation of “access to lawful pathways” for nationals of these four nations. The first centers were established in Guatemala and Colombia so that their nationals may schedule appointments with U.S. immigration experts to assist with the admission procedure prior to their arrival in the United States.
“The new procedures are for Colombian, El Salvadorian, Guatemalan, and Honduran nationals who have been authorized to join their family in the United States and whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents,” DHS stated. In particular, while they wait to apply to become lawful permanent residents, citizens of certain nations may be eligible for parole on a case-by-case basis for a maximum of three years.
DHS has not disclosed the number of FRP beneficiaries who were released into the United States or the number who were processed in Colombia and Guatemala prior to their arrival, in contrast to CHNV data.
When Mayorkas announced the FRP, he stated, “These new processes promote family unity and provide lawful pathways consistent with our laws and our values.” “The Department has demonstrated that reducing dangerous, irregular migration to the United States can be achieved through the expansion of safe, orderly, and lawful pathways in conjunction with strict enforcement.”
However, CBP data from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024 showed that these four FRP countries reported the highest number of unlawful border crossers.
The fiscal year of CBP runs from October 1 to September 30. The first three months of fiscal 2021, which took place in 2020 during the Trump administration, are not included in the report. Compared to months under Biden-Harris, data from the Trump administration is negligible.
Colombia
This Article Includes
During the Biden-Harris administration, there were 442,299 documented unlawful border crossers from Colombia, with the highest number of 167,388 occurring in fiscal 2023.
Trump and Harris make their closing arguments the night before the election is tied.
The data also shows that during the Biden-Harris government, 19,287 illegal border crossers from Colombia were detected in December 2023, compared to 371 during the Trump administration in December 2020.
El Salvador
306,455 Salvadoran unlawful border crossers were documented during the Biden-Harris administration, with the highest number of 97,797 occurring in fiscal 2022.
The data shows that during the Biden-Harris government, 9,848 Salvadoran unlawful border crossers were detected in October 2021, compared to 3,107 during the Trump administration in October 2020.
Guatemala
913,783 unlawful border crossers from Guatemala were documented during the Biden-Harris administration, with 251,902 being the highest number during the first nine months of fiscal 2021.
In contrast, the data shows that during the Trump administration, 12,559 illegal border crossers from Guatemala were recorded in December 2020, while during the Biden-Harris government, 35,544 were reported in December 2023.
The Honduran
870,146 Honduran unlawful border crossers were documented under the Biden-Harris administration, with 294,770 being the highest number in the first nine months of fiscal 2021.
The data shows that during the Biden-Harris administration, 22,300 illegal border crossers from Honduras were detected in October 2023, compared to 7,535 during the Trump administration in October 2020.
Excluding gotaways and those released through the FRP and other programs, their combined amount is 2,532,683. These figures alone surpass the combined populations of 15 U.S. states.