BORDER SECURITYThe Crisis at the Border: A Primer for Confused Americans
The volume of migrants arriving at the border without prior authorization—a historic high of 3.2 million encounters in fiscal year 2023—is indeed record-breaking. Migrants now hail from a greater diversity of countries than in the past and consist of more families and children.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will both be making appearances at the southern U.S. border Thursday, February 29, underscoring how the migrant crisis has become a leading political issue in this election year.
The White House, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives have been at loggerheads about how and whether to address the crisis for months. A bipartisan team of senators introduced a bill on February 4 that would have represented the first major changes to U.S. immigration law since 1996—only to have it stall out in the chamber within days.
While that compromise effort is no longer under discussion, lawmakers remain under pressure to address the border crisis, and the administration and congressional leaders are discussing additional proposals. The primary challenge is to reduce the number of migrants arriving while also adhering to American legal and humanitarian responsibilities.
Here’s an overview of the issues and measures at the heart of the border crisis.
Who Is Arriving at the U.S. Border and Why?
The volume of migrants arriving at the border without prior authorization—a historic high of 3.2 million encounters in fiscal year 2023—is indeed record-breaking. Migrants now hail from a greater diversity of countries than in the past and consist of more families and children.
They make the dangerous trek for many reasons (PDF). Some are fleeing increased violence or political upheaval. Others seek jobs and economic opportunities, in the wake of profound economic dislocations caused by COVID-19, natural disasters, and economic stagnation. There are few lawful paths into the country for migrants driven by those factors. As a result, growing numbers seek to enter the country through the asylum process.
The volume of migration is straining the capacity of the entire immigration system. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have struggled to process, detain, or remove arrivals. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has struggled to screen the ballooning number of those seeking to claim asylum. And cities around the country are unable to house the swelling numbers of destitute newcomers.
How Does the Asylum Process Work at the Border?
Those who arrive to the United States without advance authorization, but who can establish that they have a credible fear of persecution in their home countries, may be paroled. That means they are allowed in temporarily to apply for asylum. Some people—usually families and unaccompanied children—are more simply paroled into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge in the future.
