Border crisis worsens: Highest number of migrants in two decades crossed into US illegally during April

Border apprehensions during the month of April reached a new 20-year record, breaking the previous record set in March.

"CBP continues to see a large influx of illegal migration along the Southwest Border," Customs and Border Protection chief Troy Miller said.

How many migrants came in April?

CBP agents encountered 178,622 migrants attempting to enter the U.S. via the southern border last month, a 3% increase over March.

The number is more than 10 times greater than April 2020, when 17,106 migrants were caught at the southern border.

In fact, border apprehensions during President Joe Biden's first three full months in office — February, March, and April — now exceed all total apprehensions during fiscal year 2020, the last complete fiscal year prior to Biden's presidency.

According to CBP data, single adults constituted the majority of all migrant encounters last month. Meanwhile, CBP deported more than 111,000 adults back to Mexico under the Title 42 public health order. CBP said 62.5% of all adult encounters resulted in a Title 42 deportation.

What about unaccompanied minors?

Fortunately, encounters of unaccompanied minors dropped 12% last month from 15,918 in March to 13,962.

The CBP celebrated the fact that most unaccompanied minors who crossed the border are no longer in CBP custody, saying only 455 minors remained in the agency's care as of Tuesday.

However, that statistic may be misleading. While the number of children in CBP custody is down significantly, many of those children remain in government care — just under a different department, the Department of Health and Human Services.

In fact, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) is accusing the Biden administration of playing a "shell game" with unaccompanied migrant children to mislead the public.

"What they're doing now is they're moving the kids from the Border Patrol tents over to, next door, to the HHS facility," Cuellar said. "With all due respect, it's all been a shell game."

Cuellar has been one of Biden's most vocal critics during the border crisis. Cuellar represents a congressional district on the U.S.-Mexico border, so he understands the realities of the border crisis. Cuellar has said that Biden's immigration policies and his promises to reverse former President Donald Trump's deterrent policies have contributed to the border crisis.

Anything else?

Mark Morgan, former acting CBP commissioner, reacted to April's numbers by claiming the message from Biden remains the same.

"The message is clear—America's borders are open," Morgan said, the Daily Wire reported. "If you make it to the border as an unaccompanied minor or as part of a family unit, you will likely be released into the interior. Once that happens, the Biden administration will do nothing to remove you, as the plummeting deportation numbers from ICE make clear. In fact, the Biden administration will push to give you the greatest reward of all—American citizenship via amnesty—in response to your lawbreaking."

Neither Biden nor Vice President Kamala Harris have visited the border during the migrant crisis.