It was another turbulent year in 2023, marked by political dysfunction at home and two major world conflicts. ‘America’s Newsroom’ anchor Bill Hemmer looks back at the top headlines of the past 12 months. After two years of chaos at the southern border, 2023 was seen as a year the migrant crisis could be brought under control. But it was not to be, and the border enters 2024 in the grips of a record-setting surge.
The year started after December 2022 saw a record 252,000-plus encounters at the border with the Title 42 public health order, which allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the border, still in place but facing a looming legal challenge before the Supreme Court. In early January, the Biden administration announced a number of new measures to bring order to the border, while pushing Congress for more funding and immigration reform.
Numbers dropped sharply over the coming months, down to 156,000 encounters in February, but a new challenge loomed as the Biden administration moved to end the COVID-19 national emergency. That meant Title 42, instituted in March 2020 due to the pandemic for rapid removals, was also ending. The halt to that policy was met with delight by activists and Democrats who said it was cruel and outdated.
Numbers surged in the weeks leading up to May 11, with over 10,000 encounters a day as migrants rushed to the border. Chaos was predicted once the order ended, and both Democrats and Republicans demanded the administration extend the order. But the opposite happened. Numbers dropped, both through the end of May into June, when numbers hit a low of 144,000 encounters. While still high compared to pre-2021 numbers, the June numbers were the lowest since early 2021. Numbers went up in July, but only slightly. The administration hailed it as a sign its post-Title 42 strategy was working.
But the celebrations were premature. Numbers shot up to 232,000 in August and 269,735 in September, a new monthly record. October’s 240,000 encounters were the highest on record for that month. The political implications of the crisis increased, and budget discussions began to snarl as conservatives demanded sweeping changes, calling for asylum limits and restrictions on the administration’s use of parole and additional border security.
Meanwhile, Democratic mayors in cities like New York City and Chicago, where migrants had flocked in the tens of thousands, increased pressure on the administration to do more, in addition to the billions of funding the feds had already provided. The administration granted temporary protected status (TPS) to hundreds of Venezuelans, allowing them to get work permits, but those mayors said it wasn’t enough, and they called for $5 billion in additional funding.
Late 2023 saw yet another surge at the border, breaking multiple records. Sources told Fox that December was on track to break the record for monthly encounters, marking an unfortunate end to a tough year at the border for the administration.
