CBP still hasn't released September's border encounter numbers as end of October approaches

U.S. Customs and Border Protection still hasn't released September's border encounter numbers as the end of October approaches.

As of Thursday evening, the numbers were still not available publicly on CBP's website.

The agency typically releases its "monthly operational update," which includes the southwest border encounter numbers, in the middle of the month.

For example, the June numbers were released on July 16 and the July figures were released on August 13. The August operational report was released on September 19, which revealed that southwest border encounters year-to-date stood at a record 2,150,639. President Biden has been heavily criticized by Republican lawmakers for his administration's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The September border encounter figures will be the last numbers to go out before the Nov. 8 election takes place. The September data is the last month of the federal government's fiscal year. October's numbers won't be released until after the Nov. 8 election. 

Just the News reached out to the CBP press office to find out when September's operational update will be released but we did not receive a response before press time.