WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics showing the highest number of border arrests in January in more than 20 years as the United States continues to face a crisis at our southern border:
“I am alarmed the January CBP operational statistics show that our nation saw the worst January in more than 20 years as the unlawful migration crisis continues. CBP reported nearly 154,000 total encounters at the border in January. This includes more than 31,000 migrant family members; more than 113,000 single adult migrants, which comprised nearly three-fourths of all encounters; and more than 8,000 unaccompanied children. This is a 96 percent increase from the January 2021 numbers of more than 78,000 total encounters and more than quadruple the January 2020 numbers of 36,585 total encounters. The numbers don’t lie. This crisis is a direct result of the Biden administration’s decision to dismantle the previous administration’s border policies with no consideration of the consequences.
“The surge in illicit narcotics coming over our border also continues to rise, with seizures of fentanyl increasing 57 percent over the last month. As recent CDC data has shown, these illicit narcotics, including deadly fentanyl, are taking a record number of lives in communities in Ohio and across our country. The failure of this administration to control our southern border has resulted in record levels of deadly fentanyl coming into our country, leading to more American lives being lost, families devastated, and has contributed to the growing strength of Mexican transnational criminal organizations.”
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