DHS: 95 Percent of Border Crossers Instantly Deported Thanks to CDC’s Title 42 Order

About 95 percent of border crossers apprehended by United States Border Patrol agents are being instantly deported to their native countries thanks to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Title 42 order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan told lawmakers on Thursday that the CDC order, which gives federal immigration officials broad authority to immediately return border crossers over public health concerns, has been hugely beneficial in reducing illegal immigration. Morgan said:

Early on, after [the CDC] order, we saw those trying to illegally enter our country drop by more than 50 percent from our pre-COVID numbers. Rather than introducing the illegal aliens into our facilities, increasing the exposure risk to our workforce and our country, CBP because of this order is returning approximately 95 percent of those we encounter expeditiously to their country of last transit.

Morgan continued:

Can you imagine what we’d be going through right now if we were going through this pandemic this same time last year when our southwest border facilities were overwhelmed and overcrowded with families and children.

At the peak of illegal immigration levels in the two years, Morgan said the agency had more than 20,000 foreign nationals in their custody. Today, the number of foreign nationals in CBP custody on any given day has been cut down to 150 to 200 — a 900 percent reduction.

Likewise, Morgan said the total number of unaccompanied minors — who can be freed into the U.S. — crossing illegally has been reduced by about 70 percent.

In recent weeks, President Trump has implemented significant reforms to the nation’s immigration system to ensure that the more than 40 million unemployed or underemployed Americans are given priority for blue-collar and white-collar job openings.

Aside from the CDC order, Trump’s reforms have included suspending a series of foreign visa worker programs to reduce labor market competition against Americans, as well as regulatory changes to close outsourcing loopholes in the H-1B visa program and ending work permits for most border crossers claiming asylum.

The reforms are expected to free up nearly 600,000 U.S. jobs for Americans.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.