DHS Reports 2.4 Million Border Encounters in FY2022 — “The Most Ever on Record”; KJP Blames “Falling Regimes” and Attacks GOP Governors

On 10/24/2022, a reporter confronted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with the Department of Homeland Security’s own data: 2.4 million encounters at the southern border during fiscal year 2022 — “the most ever on record.” The reporter asked directly, “What’s the White House’s explanation as to what happened and why?” KJP attributed the record surge to “people who are fleeing falling regimes and economic collapse,” then pivoted to attacking Republican governors for “using these migrants as a political pawn” — a response that addressed neither why the record was set under Biden’s presidency nor what the administration planned to do differently.

”The Most Ever on Record”

The reporter laid out the data without editorializing. “Late Friday, the Department of Homeland Security released the latest numbers on border interactions with the Border Patrol,” the reporter said. “They show that over the course of fiscal year 2022, 2.4 million encounters happened on the southern border. That’s the most ever on record.”

The timing of the data release was itself notable — DHS released the numbers late on a Friday afternoon, the traditional Washington burial ground for unfavorable news. The “Friday night dump” ensured the numbers would receive minimal weekend cable coverage and be old news by Monday morning’s briefing cycle.

The 2.4 million figure shattered the previous record of approximately 1.7 million encounters in FY2021 — which was itself an all-time record set during Biden’s first year. The trajectory was unmistakable: encounters had roughly tripled from FY2020’s approximately 458,000 (a year affected by both Title 42 expulsions and pandemic-reduced travel) to FY2022’s 2.4 million.

”Fleeing Falling Regimes”

KJP’s explanation attributed the surge to conditions in source countries. “What we’re seeing — this new migration challenge — is driven by people who are fleeing falling regimes and economic collapse,” KJP said.

The explanation had a kernel of truth — conditions in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti had deteriorated significantly, and migrants from these countries represented a growing share of border encounters. But the “falling regimes” explanation failed to address the central question: why were these migrants choosing to come now, under Biden, in record numbers?

Conditions in Central America and other source countries had been poor for years — decades, in many cases. Venezuela’s economy collapsed under Maduro beginning in 2015. Cuba had been economically distressed since the Soviet Union’s collapse. Haiti’s instability was chronic. What changed between FY2020 and FY2022 was not conditions in source countries but the policies and signals emanating from Washington.

Biden had campaigned on reversing Trump’s immigration enforcement posture, canceling the Remain in Mexico policy, pausing deportations, and signaling a more welcoming approach to migration. One migrant had told reporters in 2022 that he “thanked the president for keeping the border open.” The policy signals mattered as much as push factors — and KJP’s explanation addressed only the push factors while ignoring the pull factors created by the administration’s own decisions.

The “Political Pawn” Pivot

Rather than addressing the record numbers, KJP pivoted to attacking Republican governors. “While we’re trying to deal with the challenges, as you all know, you have Republican governors who are using these migrants — they’re using them as a political pawn, which you’ve heard us call out many times from here,” KJP said.

The pivot was a masterclass in misdirection. The reporter asked why 2.4 million people crossed the border in FY2022. KJP’s answer was about governors in Texas and Florida transporting relatively small numbers of migrants to Democratic cities — an issue that, whatever its merits, had nothing to do with why the border was experiencing record crossings.

The “political pawn” attack served two purposes: it changed the subject from the administration’s policy failures to Republican behavior, and it created an emotional frame that made any discussion of border enforcement feel heartless. By characterizing migrants as victims of Republican cruelty, KJP discouraged follow-up questions about the policies that enabled the record surge.

The Late Friday Release

The DHS decision to release record-breaking border data late on a Friday was a deliberate communications strategy. Government agencies have long used Friday afternoon releases to minimize media coverage of unfavorable information — the practice is so common it has its own name in Washington: the “Friday news dump.”

For data this significant — the highest number of border encounters in American history — the choice of release timing revealed the administration’s awareness that the numbers were politically devastating. A Monday or Tuesday release would have generated multiple news cycles of coverage heading into the final two weeks before midterms. A Friday evening release ensured the story peaked over the weekend when viewership was lowest.

2.4 Million in Context

The FY2022 border encounter number of 2.4 million was difficult to comprehend in human terms:

It represented more people than the population of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the United States
It was roughly equivalent to the entire population of New Mexico
It was more than six times the FY2020 total of approximately 458,000
It exceeded the combined populations of several major American cities

And the 2.4 million figure counted only encounters — individuals actually detected and processed by Border Patrol. The total number of individuals who crossed the border included an unknown number of “gotaways” — people detected by surveillance but not apprehended. CBP estimated gotaways in FY2022 at approximately 600,000, bringing the total to roughly 3 million people crossing the southern border in a single fiscal year.

”We Are Doing the Work”

KJP concluded with the generic assurance that had become her standard border response. “We are doing the work every day to make sure that we deal with what we’re seeing on the southern border,” KJP said.

“Doing the work” without results was the administration’s border position distilled to its essence. The work KJP referenced had produced the worst border numbers in American history. If this was what “doing the work” looked like, the natural follow-up — which the briefing format didn’t allow — was: what would not doing the work look like?

Key Takeaways

DHS reported 2.4 million border encounters in FY2022 — the highest number ever recorded — released late on a Friday to minimize media coverage.
KJP attributed the record to “people fleeing falling regimes and economic collapse” without addressing why the surge happened specifically under Biden’s policies.
She pivoted to attacking Republican governors as using migrants as “political pawns” rather than explaining the all-time record.
The 2.4 million encounters exceeded the population of Houston and didn’t include an estimated 600,000 “gotaways.”
KJP said the administration was “doing the work every day” — the same work that produced the worst border numbers in American history.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Over fiscal year 2022, 2.4 million encounters happened on the southern border. That’s the most ever on record.
What’s the White House’s explanation as to what happened and why?
This new migration challenge is driven by people who are fleeing falling regimes and economic collapse.
You have Republican governors who are using these migrants as a political pawn.
You’ve heard us call out many times from here and you’ve heard the president call out.
We are doing the work every day to make sure that we deal with what we’re seeing on the southern border.

Full transcript: 164 words transcribed via Whisper AI.