Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 2.5 million illegal border crossers were reported from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
The total excludes gotaways, those who illegally entered the U.S. and evaded capture. It also excludes the number of inadmissibles from these countries who were released into the U.S. through a so-called family reunification program (FRP) program created by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas created at least 13 parole programs identified as illegal by U.S. House Republicans who impeached him for them and other policies they argue created the border crisis. Among them was the CHNV parole program created for inadmissible citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Combined with illegal border crossers, they total more than 3 million under the Biden-Harris administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.
In July 2023, Mayorkas implemented the FRP program for inadmissible citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, The Center Square reported. Citizens of CHNV and FRP countries have been, and continue to be, linked to violent crimes committed against Americans and against others in the country illegally, The Center Square reported.
The FRP facilitated “access to lawful pathways” for citizens of these four countries, including the federal government opening regional processing centers for the first time in U.S. history outside of the United States. The first centers were opened in Colombia and Guatemala for their citizens to make appointments to meet with U.S. immigration specialists to help process them for entry before they arrived to the U.S.
“The new processes are for nationals from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States,” DHS said. “Specifically, nationals of these countries can be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they wait to apply to become a lawful permanent resident.”
Unlike CHNV data, DHS hasn’t publicized how many FRP recipients were released into the U.S. or how many were processed in Colombia and Guatemala before they arrived.
“These new processes promote family unity and provide lawful pathways consistent with our laws and our values,” Mayorkas said when announcing the FRP. “The Department has proven that the expansion of safe, orderly, and lawful pathways, combined with strong enforcement, is effective in reducing dangerous, irregular migration to the United States.”
Despite this, the greatest number of illegal border crossers were reported from these four FRP countries, according to CBP data from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2024.
CBP’s fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. The data excludes the first three months of fiscal 2021, which occurred in 2020 under the Trump administration. Data from Trump-era months are miniscule compared to Biden-Harris-era months.
Colombia
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 442,299 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2023 of 167,388.
By comparison, 371 Colombian illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 19,287 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
El Salvador
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 306,455 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in fiscal 2022 of 97,797.
By comparison, 3,107 Salvadoran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 9,848 in October 2021 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Guatemala
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 913,783 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 251,902.
By comparison, 12,559 Guatemalan illegal border crossers were reported in December 2020 under the Trump administration and 35,544 in December 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Honduras
Under the Biden-Harris administration, 870,146 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported, with the greatest number in nine months of fiscal 2021 of 294,770.
By comparison, 7,535 Honduran illegal border crossers were reported in October 2020 under the Trump administration and 22,300 in October 2023 under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the data.
Combined, they total 2,532,683, excluding gotaways and those released through the FRP and other programs.
These numbers alone total more than the individual populations of 15 U.S. states.
