Over 600,000 people illegally made their way into the United States without being apprehended by border agents during the 2023 fiscal year, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed Tuesday.
Mayorkas disclosed the number during a hearing on national security on Capitol Hill, in which he insisted the gotaways have been a problem at the border for “decades.”
“The phenomenon of gotaways is something that has been a challenge for the department of homeland security for decades,” the Biden-appointed secretary said.
Astonishingly, he added: “In fact, it is a powerful example of a broken immigration system.”
Customs and Border Protection figures released since the financial year ended on Sept 30 showed 900,000 migrants had been allowed into the country legally along the southwest border under humanitarian parole, allowing them to pursue asylum applications.
When the number of added to the number of Gotaways, that makes 1.5m migrants who have crossed the border in the last year, many of whom are now straining services in major metropolitan cities including New York, Chicago, Denver and Washington D.C.
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