Nearly one million “asylum seekers” applied for entry into the U.S. in fiscal year 2023, while tens of millions have crossed the southern border illegally under the Biden-Harris administration.

A report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that 945,370 asylum applications were submitted, setting a new record. These figures represent the highest in U.S. history, and DHS data showed that both affirmative and defensive asylum cases have nearly doubled since the Biden-Harris administration took office. Affirmative asylum applicants are those who apply directly to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, while defensive asylum seekers apply to an immigration judge to avoid deportation, as noted by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In fiscal year 2023, 456,750 individuals applied for affirmative asylum, a record high and nearly double the previous year’s total, according to DHS. Defensive asylum applications also surged, reaching 488,620 cases, almost doubling the 260,830 cases from fiscal year 2022.

The Biden-Harris administration admitted 100,000 refugees into the U.S. in fiscal year 2023 and seeks to admit an additional 25,000 in the next fiscal year. The administration’s approach to criminal illegal immigrants has been criticized, with deportations down 74% since President Biden took office.

Former President Donald Trump has attributed the surge in illegal immigration to the Biden-Harris administration’s “open border” policy, claiming it has allowed tens of millions of illegal immigrants to enter without facing legal consequences. According to Trump, this includes 13,000 convicted murderers and 435,000 individuals with criminal records.

The DHS report also highlighted specific nationalities that have found it easier to gain asylum under the Biden-Harris administration. Venezuelan asylum cases, for instance, soared from 15,000 in fiscal year 2021 to 173,190 in 2023. Similar increases were seen from applicants from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti.

JUST IN: Massive line of migrants forming in El Paso, Texas gate 39, awaiting illegal entry into the United States.pic.twitter.com/Cnnu2LLl5g

— Our Country Our Choice (@OCOCReport) October 5, 2023

These four countries are part of the administration’s Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela (CHNV) parole program, which has come under fire from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Cruz has called for the immediate termination of the program, arguing it is plagued by fraud and facilitates human trafficking and violent crime, including “sexual assault, rape, and murder.” Cruz, along with other senators, sent a letter in September to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging them to shut down the CHNV Parole Program, calling it “ineffective, unlawful, and hazardous.”