According to an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the Biden Admin. drastically reduced alien prosecutions by nearly 80% during the last fiscal year (2021)- despite a record-breaking border surge.
Just 2,896 aliens caught illegally crossing into the United States were transferred to U.S. Marshal custody during President Biden's first full fiscal year in office - that was out of 1,734,686 total aliens caught between October 2020 and September 2021.
For context, the Washington Free Beacon reported, "In the 2020 fiscal year, 13,213 migrants were transferred to federal authorities for prosecution." In fiscal year 2019, DHS transferred 20,604 aliens into the custody of the U.S. Marshals. The article adds:
Under federal law, it is a misdemeanor crime to illegally cross the border. A second arrest for illegally crossing the border can be prosecuted as a felony. According to federal law, those found guilty of an illegal border crossing face fines and up to two years in prison.
"The lack of accountability from this administration encourages the worst people flooding our borders, criminals, to keep violating our laws until they finally commit a crime so egregious that the Department of Justice is forced to prosecute," a senior DHS official told the Free Beacon.
Some open border supporters have attributed the drop in prosecutions to ending Title 42; however, that argument does not hold water. Title 42 was implemented by President Trump in March 2020. As mentioned above, the Trump Admin. still prosecuted far more illegal aliens with the public health order than President Biden did in his first year.
Additionally, 2020 saw 458,088 total illegal aliens caught attempting to enter the United States compared to 2021's 1,734,686 total illegal aliens.
The Washington Free Beacon concludes:
The Free Beacon in December reported on deportations plummeting to the lowest number in decades under Biden. The White House has also stonewalled congressional investigations into where DHS is placing illegal immigrants after they are released into the U.S. interior.
You can read the complete article here.
