Border Patrol data contradicts Mayorkas: December breaks all-time record for migrant encounters

The data released by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the number of migrant encounters in December contradict earlier statements from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Mayorkas, who is facing an investigation and possibly impeachment for his handling of the border crisis, said Thursday that encounters with immigrants from "targeted countries" had "dropped significantly."

According to Mayorkas, a "comprehensive strategy" was already underway to secure the borders and "build a safe, orderly and humane immigration system."

However, the CBP figures not only disprove the DHS secretary but also represent a new record in the ongoing border crisis.

According to CBP's new report, in December, there were more than 250,000 encounters at the Mexican border. This far exceeds the 179,253 from December 2021 and even the peak of 241,136 encounters in May of last year.

It should be noted that the summer months are usually the peak for illegal immigration, so it is especially alarming that this new record was set in December.

Border Patrol support for Mayorkas' dismissal

Mayorkas' management of the border crisis has generated so much displeasure that a senior Border Patrol union official said the agents would go as far as to support the dismissal of the secretary if the situation at the border, already in crisis, were to worsen further.

"Agents can help with [processing]. But they need to also be out there to be able to deal with the patrolling the border piece of it, the part that's in our job title, Border Patrol agent. We're supposed to be out there patrolling the border," he said.