220,000 illegal immigrants have evaded capture at the border since October

Nearly a quarter of a million immigrants were able to evade Border Patrol’s detection crossing illegally into the U.S. since October 2021, a Homeland Security official told Fox News.

The approximately 220,000 undetected illegal entries come during months that are typically slower for border crossings and only include the known so-called ‘gotaways’ – meaning there are likely many more in the country illegally who could have evaded detection.

The figure also does not include the actual encounters the agency experienced at the southern border of those who turn themselves in or are caught.

Many migrants entering the U.S. over the last few years immediately turn themselves in to Border Patrol claiming asylum – and others are apprehended by the enforcement arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Pressure continues to mount on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to address the growing border crisis, but the administration repeatedly doubles-down on its action of addressing ‘root causes’ in Central American countries that lead to migration.

The numbers shared by the DHS official with Fox also only includes an estimate of gotaways spotted on cameras and sensors, as well as other detection methods, but were not apprehended. This means there could still be more in the country that evaded Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detection altogether.

A Homeland Security official told Fox News on Wednesday that approximately 220,000 illegal immigrants evaded Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detection since October – and this only includes those found by cameras and sensors

CBP encountered 153,941 migrants in January, it revealed last week. This is a dip from December when there were 179,219 encounters but is expected to increase going into warmer months

CBP announced last week that they encountered 153,941 migrants in January, a dip from December when there were 179,219 encounters. It also shows how the number of encounters drop in the colder, more inclement months. 

A court filing revealed that 62,573 migrants were released into the U.S. in January.

In September 192,001 encounters and in July a several-year record high of 213,593 encounters in just that month.

In January 2021, there were 78,414 migrant encounters on CBP record – a more than 75,500 difference from this year.

The number of illegal migrants who evaded CBP detection is also likely higher this year than last and those crossings as well as apprehensions are likely to ramp up as Spring ensues.

Republicans have increasingly called for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign or be fired for his handling of the southern border crisis as crossings continue to surge after a year of Biden’s presidency.

The current administration continues to take moves to make it easier for migrants to enter the country and find a route toward citizenship – or at least release into the U.S. as they await asylum court dates.

Many migrants turn themselves into CBP claiming asylum or are caught by the enforcement arm of DHS

On Day One of his administration, Biden ended several Trump-era policies aimed at quelling illegal flow of migration at the southern border and addressing the crisis there. This included immediately halting construction of the border wall and ending the Migrant Protection Program (MPP), which is otherwise known as the Remain in Mexico Policy.

A federal court forced Biden to reinstate the policy last year.

MPP sends migrants back to Mexico after they cross into the U.S. and claim asylum as they await their hearings. Proponents of this policy claim this is more effective because if migrants claiming asylum are released into the U.S., many never show up for their court dates and remain illegally in the country.