(NewsNation) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection just released new numbers, the full count of migrants who’ve arrived at the US southern border, and the numbers are pretty staggering.
Another 227,000 migrants arrived at ports of entry, making for the third-highest month on record.
That makes nearly 2.38 million for the year.
When CBP records these “encounters,” they’re describing migrants who present themselves to officials legally. They’re either turned away or processed if they’re claiming asylum.
What these numbers don’t show are what border agents call “got aways.” Those are people who come into the U.S. entirely illegally, evading agents altogether.
For that reason, there’s really no way to know exactly how many there are, CBP estimates more than 600,000 got aways made it into the U.S. in 2022.
The border situation has already proven to be a key election issue in the battleground state of Arizona, where both parties’ candidates say it’ll be a priority.
According to FiveThirtyEight politics, an average of polls shows the race for governor is neck-and-neck. Republican Kari Lake is ahead of Democrat Katie Hobbs by about one point, 47.5 to 46.3.
In Texas, Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, a border haw, has a comfortable 11-point lead over Democrat Beto O’Rourke in the race for governor.
Beyond the midterms, current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration, asking the courts to allow the state to essentially conduct its own border security and not have to rely on the Biden administration to do it.
Arizona previously took the initiative to stack large supply containers to fill gaps in its border wall, a move the feds did not authorize.