IN 2023, MORE THAN 2.4 MILLION APPREHENSIONS AT THE BORDER

VERIFY: Gov. Abbott's border claims backed by federal data

We decided to Verify the claims Gov. Greg Abbott made Monday as he signed Senate Bill 4 into law. 

 

By Marcelino Benito

 

KHOU-11

Dec 19, 2023

 

Thousands of migrants crossed into El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Dec 12, 2022

 

HOUSTON — Before signing Senate Bill 4 into law on Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made a lot of claims about what's happening at the United States-Mexico border.

The new law allows any Texas law enforcement officer to arrest people who are suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could either agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges of illegal entry. Migrants who don’t comply could face arrest again under more serious felony charges.

We decided to Verify the claims Abbott made Monday at the bill-signing ceremony.

Abbott painted a pretty dark picture of what's happening along the border, and government data backs up a lot of it. Abbott laid the border crisis on the shoulders of President Joe Biden.

"Two years ago, there was a record number of illegal immigrants apprehended -- more than 2.3 million. That's larger than the size of Houston, Texas," Abbott said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showed that the fiscal year of 2022 saw a total of 2,378,944 apprehensions -- peaking in May with more than 241,000 crossings.

In 2023, the number was even higher with more than 2.4 million apprehensions at the border.

So, we can Verify those claims are true.

Abbott also raised concerns about who is actually crossing the border.

"While Donald Trump was president, there were 11 people on the terror watch list who were apprehended. Under Joe Biden, however, that number has skyrocketed to 294 people," Abbott said on Monday.

A CBP data chart showed that there was a 2,500% increase in migrants with possible terror ties attempting to cross the southern border since Biden took office.

So, we can Verify that this claim made by Abbott is also true.

Abbott also cited reports that highlight how dangerous the border is for migrants who are trying to make it to the United States.

"The border between the U.S. and Mexico is the deadliest land crossing in the entire world," Abbott said.

A United Nations report confirmed that 686 people died or disappeared along the U.S.-Mexico border last year, but UN officials suggested that number could be even higher due to "missing official data."

So, again, we can Verify that Abbott's claim, in this case, is true, too.

Abbott said he believes SB4 will reduce illegal crossings by 50% to 70%. That remains an open question contingent on when and if the law goes into effect.