Originally Authored at TheFederalist.com
The Biden administration disclosed the entry of hundreds of thousands of new migrants into the country in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS).
On Tuesday, the non-partisan research group revealed how the administration was welcoming new migrant by way of a mobile app known as “CBP One.”
“The data shows, in part, that nearly 250,000 foreign nationals through August 2023 have been paroled into the United States at the land border ports after scheduling crossing appointments with the CPB One mobile phone app,” CIS reported. “Of that total, only 136,000 came from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, the advertised beneficiaries; the rest, more than 100,000, came from a startlingly broad array of 93 other countries.”
Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee also outlined new numbers on how many migrants have successfully exploited the app to gain entry.
“Overall, 95.8 percent of all inadmissible aliens who scheduled appointments through the app during this time were ultimately issued a ‘Notice to Appear’ (NTA) and released into the United States on parole,” a press release read. With more than 278,000 appointments scheduled, nearly 267,000 individuals were set free in the United States. Among those released include nearly 56,000 Venezuelans, nearly 20,000 Russians, nearly 2,000 Uzbeks, nearly 800 Belarusians, more than 200 Afghans, 32 Chinese, and 16 Iranian nationals.
“Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas has utterly abused the CBP One app in his quest for open borders,” said House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green.
These numbers are proof that Mayorkas’ operation is a smokescreen for the mass release of individuals into this country who would otherwise have zero claim to be admitted. At a time when global tensions are rising, and our enemies are growing bolder, releasing tens of thousands of these people into our communities—especially when they have not received adequate, if any, vetting—is irresponsible.
In January, the White House announced illegal migrants could enter the country from central and northern Mexico so long as they make an appointment with CBP on the mobile app. The new initiative was designed to “significantly reduce wait times and crowds at U.S. ports of entry and allow for safe, orderly, and humane processing.” The “lawful pathways” strategy, however, has been exploited to usher in thousands of new migrants otherwise inadmissible.
According to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday, the app was exploited by Central American cartels using virtual private networks (VPN) to smuggle people across the border. The use of the VPN allows migrants to conceal their true location to schedule an appointment even if they are far from northern Mexico.
“Immigrants outside Mexico have new hope to make the journey north after a two-month downturn in illegal immigration apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in May and June as the Biden administration threatened more severe consequences for immigrants who enter the country illegally rather than through its app or other legal pathways,” reported the Examiner. “The emergence of the VPNs may be a contributing factor for the 30% increase in border encounters by U.S. authorities in July, which the Washington Post reported this week had suddenly gone up since early May despite the summer historically being a slow time.”
The CBP also warned about the potential for radical Islamic terrorists to exploit the open border. A memo from the San Diego Field Office’s Intelligence Unit last week reported by Fox News cautioned that potential terrorists “inspired by, or reacting to, the current Israel-Hamas conflict may attempt travel to or from the area of hostilities in the Middle East via circuitous transit across the Southwest border.”
An intelligence assessment from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also warned Americans this month about the potential for terrorists to “exploit the elevated flow and increasingly complex security environment to enter the United States.”
New immigration numbers from DHS revealed not only a record number of migrants crossed the border last month but that September broke the record for how many entered who are on the terror watch list. CBP data published on Saturday show 169 non-U.S. citizens whose information is logged in the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database were apprehended along the southern border. Five-hundred-and-sixty-four potential terrorists were recorded at ports of entry in fiscal year 2023, a record number over the last six years.
[RELATED: Biden Admits Terrorism Threats In America Are Up But Won’t Stop Welcoming Them Over The Border]