Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) tweeted on December 27: “[…] Border Patrol counts more than 600,000 got-aways this year alone.”
Official data for “got-aways” in the 2022 fiscal year is yet to be released by the Department for Homeland Security (DHS), but Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed to Newsweek the accuracy of the figure in Kennedy’s tweet.
“Got aways are defined as subjects at the Southwest Border who, after making an unlawful entry, are not turned back or apprehended, and are no longer being actively pursued by USBP agents,” states the DHS Border Security Metrics Report: 2021.
So that’s people they tried to stop and gave up.
Note this doesn’t mean that the total number increases each year, as some people go back and don’t return, and others go back and forth.
Fair enough, I didn’t know that there were so many people crossing the US border.
I will point out that the equivalent EU figure post-migrant-crisis is about 400k. I believe that EU border officers are generally not allowed to turn migrants away if they have a valid claim to asylum.
https://etias.com/articles/eu-migrant-influx-record-2023
The same is true under US law and international law in general - if someone shows up at border point and requests asylum, saying they’re in danger, have been forcibly displaced or are fleeing persecution, the country must admit them. It’s not assured, though, as someone can be turned down for a US criminal record or other background check flags. You also have to apply and go through a court process to be officially granted residency. And then, having shown up and being under official control at a border, starting under Obama many refugees have been placed into detention camps or even made to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed, which can take quite some time - the US has a court backlog of about 850,000 cases. So, many people consider it easier to just dodge the authorities and come in unofficially.
Yeah, as I understand it, there are a lot of problems with requesting asylum in the US. people are not allowed to request asylum at border crossings, crossing the border illegally often prevents asylum seekers from seeking asylum, border patrol often dont respect asylum requests, asylum seekers are detained inhumanely, and asylum courts are deliberately underfunded.
I wish there was more discussion about these issues in the us, instead of blanket statements about migrants crossing the border.
Sure, but I’m talking about people who come up from Central America with no visa at all.
Do you have a source that says hundreds of thousands of people a year cross the US-Mexico border outside of legal crossing points?
Sure.
“Migrant border crossings in fiscal year 2022 topped 2.76 million, breaking previous record”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/migrant-border-crossings-fiscal-year-2022-topped-276-million-breaking-rcna53517
That’s just the people they stopped. It could also be some people being stopped multiple times.
“Fact Check: Were There 600,000 Southern U.S. Border ‘Got-Aways’ in 2022?” https://www.newsweek.com/southern-us-border-migrants-gotaways-2022-1770201
So that’s people they tried to stop and gave up.
Note this doesn’t mean that the total number increases each year, as some people go back and don’t return, and others go back and forth.
Fair enough, I didn’t know that there were so many people crossing the US border.
I will point out that the equivalent EU figure post-migrant-crisis is about 400k. I believe that EU border officers are generally not allowed to turn migrants away if they have a valid claim to asylum. https://etias.com/articles/eu-migrant-influx-record-2023
The same is true under US law and international law in general - if someone shows up at border point and requests asylum, saying they’re in danger, have been forcibly displaced or are fleeing persecution, the country must admit them. It’s not assured, though, as someone can be turned down for a US criminal record or other background check flags. You also have to apply and go through a court process to be officially granted residency. And then, having shown up and being under official control at a border, starting under Obama many refugees have been placed into detention camps or even made to wait in Mexico while their cases are processed, which can take quite some time - the US has a court backlog of about 850,000 cases. So, many people consider it easier to just dodge the authorities and come in unofficially.
Yeah, as I understand it, there are a lot of problems with requesting asylum in the US. people are not allowed to request asylum at border crossings, crossing the border illegally often prevents asylum seekers from seeking asylum, border patrol often dont respect asylum requests, asylum seekers are detained inhumanely, and asylum courts are deliberately underfunded.
I wish there was more discussion about these issues in the us, instead of blanket statements about migrants crossing the border.