Border arrests drop 33% to a 46-month low in July after asylum restrictions take hold
U.S. authorities say arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plummeted 33% in July to the lowest level since September 2020, a result of asylum being temporarily suspended
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico plummeted 33% in July to the lowest level since September 2020, a result of asylum being temporarily suspended, authorities said Friday.
The Border Patrol made 56,408 arrests last month, down from 83,536 arrests in June, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, its parent agency.
Asylum was halted at the border June 5 because arrests for illegal crossings topped a threshold of 2,500 a day, though a lack of deportation flights prevents authorities from turning away everyone. U.S. authorities say arrests dropped 55% after the measure, which followed a steep decline earlier this year that was widely attributed to Mexican authorities increasing enforcement within their borders.
“In July, our border security measures enhanced our ability to deliver consequences for illegal entry,” said Troy Miller, acting CBP commissioner.
The numbers, which were roughly in line with preliminary estimates, may give Democrats some breathing room on an issue that has dogged them throughout Joe Biden's presidency.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has taken effective action, and the Republicans continue to do nothing,” said White House spokesman Angelo Fernández Hernández.
More than 38,000 people were admitted at land crossings through an online appointment system called CBP One, bringing the total to more than 765,000 since it was introduced in January 2023.
More than 520,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela were admitted through July under a separate policy allowing people from those four countries to apply online with a financial sponsor and arrive at an airport. Permits were recently halted amid concerns about fraud by sponsors.
“(The Department of Homeland Security) is working to restart applications processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards,” CBP said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green, Republican chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, criticized the Biden administration's new and expanded legal pathways at the border.
“This administration is orchestrating a massive shell game, encouraging otherwise-inadmissible aliens to cross at ports of entry instead of between them, thereby creating a façade of improved optics for the administration, but in reality imposing a growing burden on our communities,” he said.