US Customs and Border Protection, as has been its annoying habit in the last several years, once again leaked headline apprehension numbers before the release of its formal publication of monthly statistics. Per news releases, US Border Patrol apprehended 171,000 persons attempting to cross illegally into the US in the month of March, just as CBP forecast a few weeks ago.

March saw the highest number of apprehensions for the month since the Clinton administration -- worse than any March during the Bush, Obama or Trump terms. It is fair to describe the situation as both a crisis and a policy disaster.

And that's not all. We would expect apprehensions to continue to rise for the next couple of months. In such an event, apprehensions will compare unfavorably with the Clinton administration itself, the last time the US had a bona fide illegal immigration crisis in the eyes of most immigration analysts.

For purposes of comparison, during the last year of the Clinton administration, calendar year 2000, 1.6 million people were apprehended at the border.

We are not there yet, but the border remains visibly out of control and the Biden administration appears clueless in its response.

I would again add pro forma that this crisis could be ended purely with rhetoric were a market-based visa system in prospect for the migrant community.