Over 99 Percent of Border Encounters Under Biden Result in No Deportations: House Report

The House Judiciary Committee’s interim report reveals the Biden administration’s failure to remove more than 99 percent of illegals encountered at the border.

Kinney County Constable Steve Gallegos and Kinney County Sheriff’s deputies arrest a smuggler and seven illegal aliens from Guatemala near Brackettville, Texas, on May 25, 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

In a scathing interim staff report released on Oct. 9, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) presented a grim assessment of the Biden administration’s immigration policies, highlighting its failure to remove more than 99 percent of illegal aliens encountered at the U.S.–Mexico border.

The report, titled “The Biden Border Crisis: New Data and Testimony Show How the Biden Administration Opened the Southwest Border and Abandoned Interior Immigration Enforcement” contains previously undisclosed data, painting a stark picture of the immigration enforcement challenges faced by the United States.

“There is virtually no enforcement of our immigration laws,” the report reads, citing transcribed interviews with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and slamming Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for making America “less safe.”

One of the most alarming revelations is that between Jan. 20, 2021, and March 31, 2023, there were more than 5 million illegal alien encounters at the southern border. Shockingly, at least 2,464,424 of these encounters had no confirmed departure from the United States, indicating a significant issue with deportation procedures.

During the same period, the DHS released at least 2,148,738 illegal aliens into the United States. Of these, only 5,993 illegal aliens were placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge and subsequently removed from the country. This represents a mere 6 percent of those released.

“Because of the unprecedented order crisis, some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have been forced to abandon arrests and removals of aliens, including criminal aliens, to process the illegal aliens who have arrived at the southwest border,” the report reads. “Meanwhile, the Biden Administration’s own policies and so-called enforcement ‘priorities’ have contributed to reduced arrests and lower removals of aliens.”

The report highlights a troubling lack of scrutiny for potential asylum seekers. Only 6 percent of the illegal aliens released into the United States were screened for fear of persecution, a fundamental aspect of the asylum process.

Since March, only 874 of the illegal immigrants whose claims were heard by an immigration judge and found to have a legitimate fear of persecution had been deported by the DHS. An astounding 205,473 aliens were released into the country through various illegal parole programs.

The report underscores the persistent demands by the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement for basic information regarding the state of the border crisis. In response to these demands, the DHS provided previously undisclosed data that paint a concerning picture of the ongoing immigration challenges faced by the United States.

Mr. Jordan and Mr. McClintock have called for immediate attention to address these issues and secure the nation’s borders, emphasizing the importance of immigration enforcement and border security in light of these troubling statistics.

According to Politico’s report on the document, White House spokesperson Angelo Fernández responded to the report.

“This so-called report is full of lies from House Republicans who continue to play politics while sabotaging President Biden’s work to ramp up enforcement and personnel at the border,” Ms. Fernández said.

The White House aide also cited statistics from the administration, stating that roughly 3.6 million repatriations and expulsions have been made since January 2021, as well as pointing to President Joe Biden’s $4 billion request to Congress for troops, border agents, and other resources.

It comes days after the White House made crucial policy pivots, restarting some border wall construction and unfreezing deportations of Venezuelans. Democratic governors continue piling on the Biden administration, demanding help with the flood of migrants coming to their states.

Another shutdown deadline is just 40 days away, with Republicans pushing for border funding and policy concessions and Democrats showing some willingness to negotiate. And Mr. Jordan is running for House speaker, making border issues one of the centerpieces of his pitch.

“In transcribed interviews before the Committee, ICE officials ... have testified that under the Biden Administration, releases have increased, removals have decreased, American communities have become less safe, and the Biden Administration has all but abandoned immigration enforcement,” the report from Mr. Jordan’s committee reads.

“The testimony from these front-line immigration enforcement officials vividly shows the dangerous consequences of the Biden Administration’s open-borders policies.”

White House and DHS officials didn’t respond by press time to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.