The true scale of migrant border crossings under Kamala Harris revealed

The number of migrants who illegally crossed the US border under the leadership of Kamala Harris is 25 percent higher than official data, The Telegraph reports.

Almost nine million people crossed the border since Ms. Harris became Vice President and was tasked with addressing the “root causes” of illegal immigration from Central America more than three years ago.

Critics have accused the White House of trying to launder migration data and intentionally misrepresent your records on border security.

Data released monthly by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows about 7.15 million people tried to enter the country illegally since Joe Biden and Ms Harris spent their first full month in office.

However, when immigration data is compiled each month, it does not include those who evaded detection by the Border Patrolknown as “shoots”.

A freedom of information request submitted by The Telegraph shows that the agency estimates that between February 2021 and September 2024, another 1.8 million migrants crossed the southern, northern and coastal US borders without being apprehended.

Due to the nature of infiltration, the exact routes taken by those who manage to evade border troops are not always known.

Simon Hankinson, immigration research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said: “I think this is a deliberate obfuscation. They are essentially laundering illegal immigration.”

Previous administrations also released data on encounters with migrants rather than on their escape. including under Donald Trump.

Mr Hankinson said: “Escapes will almost by definition be more likely to have a criminal record and be more undesirable than the people who show up and surrender to the border forces.”

Jason Owens, the head of the Border Patrol, told CBS News in February that he lay awake at night worrying about the number of “escapes” and considered the situation a “national security threat.”

“What do they have to hide? What do they bring? What is their purpose? Where are they from? – he said. “We just don’t know the answers to these questions.”

The share of immigrants detained under both Biden and Trump was about eight in 10—more than double what it was under George W. Bush in the early 2000s. Most migrants encountered at the US-Mexico border between 2021 and 2023. were either deported or immediately returned.

Ms Harris has vowed to tighten border security and ban US migrants from crossing illegally if she wins the presidential election in November.

Republican critics say the vice president is a failed “border czar” who has struggled to bring illegal border crossings under control. Polls show that immigration is a top priority for voters and that they have more confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the issue.

However, escapes have risen due to Trump’s use of Title 42 expulsions during the Covid pandemic, deporting asylum seekers without a hearing.

Under Trump, the number of escapes per month rose from 13,604 in March 2020 to 37,479 for the year.

When Biden ended the practice of expulsions in May 2023, the number fell the following month from 56,003 to 30,116. The number of escapes by September 2024 is less than half the same period last year.

“The important factor from an enforcement perspective was that Title 42 simply gave the person the opportunity to try again,” explained David J. Beer, an immigration expert at the Cato Institute, calling the practice “self-defeating.”

“At the same time, you’re not giving them a reason to turn themselves in to Border Patrol because you’re saying you can’t apply for asylum.”

The vast majority of escapes occur at U.S.-Mexico border crossings, said Victor Manjarrez, a former Border Patrol chief in the Arizona sector, adding that human-smuggling gangs have taken advantage of vast areas of desert to cross undetected.

“This is a challenge for the U.S. Border Patrol because surveillance capabilities are not as robust, the terrain is rugged making vehicle patrol difficult, and the density of Border Patrol agents is not as high,” he said.

Mr. Manjarres added that human smuggling gangs would simply watch the “clouds of dust” created by Border Patrol vehicles heading through the desert, miles away, and hide until agents arrived.

The Gotaways data is an assessment made by Customs and Border Protection based on a number of factors, including surveillance camera footage, motion sensors, aerial surveillance, footprints and holes made in border defenses.

It is understood that the figures obtained by The Telegraph are not yet final and may be subject to adjustments in accordance with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy.

Representatives for DHS and the Harris campaign declined to comment.

Expand your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months and get unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.