Nearly 1 million foreign nationals applied for asylum in the United States in 2023, according to federal data, showing how dramatic the immigration crisis has become under the Biden-Harris administration.
A record total of 945,370 asylum applications were filed in 2023. According to Report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Not only is this the highest number on record, the report confirmed that asylum claims in both the affirmative and defensive categories have nearly doubled in one year under the Biden-Harris administration. . (Related: Texas Attorney General asks Biden administration to help verify citizenship status of approximately 500,000 registered voters)
Active asylum seekers are primarily defined as non-citizens who have initiated an asylum application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Aliens who apply for asylum before an immigration judge during deportation proceedings are considered defensive applicants. These applicants typically include illegal immigrants and other non-citizens whose status is in violation.
According to DHS, 456,750 positive asylum applications were filed in 2023, a record high and nearly double the 241,280 positive asylum applications filed the previous year. In 2023, 488,620 defensive asylum applications were filed, a record high and almost double the 260,830 applications in 2022.
LUKEVILLE, AZ – DECEMBER 6: A U.S. Border Patrol agent instructs migrants to sit while they wait for transport from the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 6, 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
The DHS report also revealed how initiatives promoted under the Biden-Harris administration led to an explosion in asylum claims for certain nationalities.
According to the report, fewer than 15,000 affirmative and defensive asylum applications were filed by Venezuelan nationals in fiscal year 2021. The number jumped to 173,190 in fiscal year 2023. Similar trends were observed for Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian applicants during the same period.
These four nationality groups are included in the CHNV program, a parole initiative launched by the White House that has allowed hundreds of thousands of people to enter the United States. The CHNV program, which has been plagued by fraud, has about half its parolees so far. 1 million foreign nationals have entered the U.S. since its launch in January 2023 According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Biden-Harris administration also helped streamline the asylum process and expanded the government’s role. CBP One appThis allows foreign nationals to routinely apply for asylum outside the United States.
Since the Biden-Harris administration took office, Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 7 million illegal immigrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Latest CBP data. Although the number of illegal immigrants along the southern border has decreased recently due to an executive order issued earlier this year, the backlog of cases currently pending in immigration courts is already at record levels. It has placed an enormous burden on federal immigration officials trying to respond to the crisis.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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