Central Wisconsin News

A Wall Street Journal article reports that agents of the U.S. Border Patrol made 1.9 million arrests at the southern border in the year 2021. 

This comes as new data proves this record-high number is a reflection of the rising number of attempted crossings.

Adam Laxalt, a U.S. senator from Nevada, recently spoke out about his concern over rising crime rates related to the southern border, according to an article in the Reno Gazette Journal. Laxalt cited "all-time highs" in drug trafficking and human trafficking.

The 1.9 million arrests in 2021 represents nearly a 95% increase in arrests over just a two-year span from the 851,508 arrests at the border in 2019. As a result, border patrol agents have reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with those in charge of controlling the high number of migrants, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott told the WSJ.

While migrants enter through the southern border, many have chosen to reside in the Midwest. Of the estimated 70,000 immigrants residing illegally in the state of Wisconsin, 73% (51,000 persons) have come to the Midwest state from Mexico and Central America.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin recently discussed the border on Fox Business' "Varney & Co." He stated the border is an "enormous threat to our national security and our homeland security" stemming from the heightened human, sex and drug trafficking, as well as overdoses and gang-related crime. 

In a Jan. 31 letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Johnson requested additional information on how DHS enforces immigration laws, specifically including encounters at the southern border. 

Republican attorneys recently filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration concerning illegal immigration. As the case has made its way through court, data has been disclosed showing that 20% of the arrested migrants were “released into the U.S. to await hearings on their asylum applications,” down 56% from the pre-pandemic surge.

Of the 1.9 million arrested for illegally crossing the border, 402,0000 migrants were released into the U.S. while the rest were sent back to their home countries or Mexico under Title 42.