(FreedomBeacon.com)- According to an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the Biden administration drastically reduced prosecutions of illegal aliens during FY2021 despite illegal border crossing skyrocketing to a record level.
The number of so-called “migrants” transferred to federal authorities for prosecution plummeted by nearly 80 percent from FY2020 to FY2021.
According to the internal memo, a measly 2,896 migrants were transferred to the custody of the US Marshals Service in FY2021 for prosecution, down dramatically from FY2020 when 13,213 migrants were transferred for prosecution.
Meanwhile, the total number of migrant encounters in 2021 exceeded 2 million.
And only 2,896 were referred for prosecution?
But don’t worry, guys. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says the border is secure:
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insists "the border is secure."
Under Joe Biden, there have been record numbers of illegal crossings, terrorist sightings, and illicit drugs flooding over the border and into American communities. pic.twitter.com/w6e7Hh6uGs
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 20, 2022
Under federal law, illegally crossing the US border is a misdemeanor while illegally crossing a second time is a felony. Those found guilty could face fines and up to two years in prison.
Critics say the administration’s failure to bring criminal charges against the vast majority of illegal border crossers is further proof that the White House has only exacerbated the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
A senior DHS official who spoke with the Free Beacon said the administration’s lack of accountability is encouraging “the worst people flooding our borders” to continue violating the law “until they finally commit a crime so egregious that the Department of Justice is forced to prosecute.”
Official data on FY2022 is still pending.
However, the President’s order to lift the Trump-era Title 42 will likely increase the flow of migrants over the border. But even with Title 42 in place, the Biden administration’s lax border policies have resulted in the most apprehensions of illegal aliens in US history.
In addition to the attempt to eliminate Title 42, the Biden administration has, since the beginning, worked to end the immigration policies put in place by the Trump administration.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration can terminate Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that forced migrants to await their asylum hearings in Mexico rather than the United States.