Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy grilled top federal officials for being unable to answer about the number of migrants and unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing with federal officials with the Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Labor Departments Wednesday to address the safety and well-being of unaccompanied minor children crossing the southern border illegally.
Cardell Morant, the director of the Center for Countering Human Trafficking, and the rest of the witnesses could not answer Kennedy’s question about the number of “non-American citizens” who have illegally entered the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s administration.
“You’re a senior member of Homeland Security, are you not?” Kennedy asked.
“Yes, sir,” Morant said.
“Does anybody know the number?” Kennedy asked the rest of the witnesses. “None of you know the number. Try eight million. Now of that eight million, how many were children, Mr. Morant?
“I don’t have that number,” Morant answered.
“You don’t know, does anybody know? None of you know isn’t that special. Let’s assume half, okay? Eight million is four Nebraskas, right? Four new states. Let’s assume, and I don’t think this is right, that half of them are children. How many of those eight million people are still here? Do any of you know?” Kennedy asked, followed by a long silence. (RELATED: Sen. Kennedy Grills Illinois Secretary Of State Over Pornographic Books Being Exposed To Children)
The Louisiana senator then challenged the officials on how many of these individuals sought asylum without showing up to their court hearing. The witnesses could not answer any of Kennedy’s questions.
“How many of those eight million are claiming asylum? You don’t know? How many of them claim asylum and don’t show up for their hearing? Nobody knows?” Kennedy pressed. “How many of them claim asylum, don’t show up for their hearing and President Biden has departed them? You don’t know? How many of them have claimed asylum, shown up for their asylum hearing and been denied asylum and been deported? You don’t know.”
Border officials have apprehended triple the amount of illegal migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border since President Joe Biden entered office in January 2021. Officials apprehended over 2.4 million migrants in the 2023 fiscal year, which began in October 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The number of apprehensions exceeded 1.7 million in the 2021 fiscal year, and 2.3 million in the 2022 fiscal year, according to CBP data. In the final fiscal year of the Trump presidency, the agency apprehended 458,088 migrants.
Between 1990 and 2021, the U.S. admitted over 767,000 asylum seekers, according to USA Facts. The U.S. took in 17,692 asylees in 2021 alone.